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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26347978">Cat Naps</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ahenix/pseuds/Ahenix'>Ahenix</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Magnum P.I. (TV 2018)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>"partners" yeah right, (because i'm bad at writing it but i ship those two so much), Another missing pet case, F/M, Juliet Higgins Whump, Romance if you squint, Worried Magnum, also they're oblivious idiots when it comes to love - Freeform, originality isn't in my vocabulary oops</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 04:20:53</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>25,301</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26347978</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ahenix/pseuds/Ahenix</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Magnum and Higgins accept another missing pet case, which unsurprisingly turns out to be more than a simple lost cat. Was a peaceful day really too much to ask for ?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Juliet Higgins &amp; Thomas Sullivan Magnum IV</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>49</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>112</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Passwords And Genetics</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hey there ! Welcome to my very first work on AO3. I've been wanting to write for this fandom for ages, and here I finally am! I really hope you guys will like it :D </p><p>Also, this story is already fully written (for the curious ones, it's around 24k long), but I'll be taking a few days between each update to edit each chapter and make sure I didn't make too many mistakes. English isn't my first language, so sorry in advance for the mistakes you may still find!</p><p>Please enjoy!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Juliet glanced around her, head pounding and limbs aching, as she tried to see past the bars of the dozens of cages scattered around, in the hope of recognizing what Magnum and her had been looking for. She was interrupted when the warehouse door was violently thrown open, resonating loudly against the wall and making her wince as light brutally flooded the dark place. A shadow stepped inside and stormed to the pole she was attached to with heavy steps. It towered over her while barking words that her drugged brain couldn’t grasp the meaning of.</p><p><em>This is certainly not the way I had imagined my day going</em>, she mused as she stared blankly at the gun being waved in her face.</p><p>
  <em>So much for a peaceful day.</em>
</p><p>
  <b>0-0-0</b>
</p><p> </p><p>The morning had started normally enough, in her opinion. Or, at least, as normal as it could be when one was to live with a certain private detective and his nasty habit to attract trouble wherever he went.</p><p>Juliet had gotten up early, feeling unusually refreshed after one of those nice, trouble-free nights that had become too sparse for her taste. There had been no case forcing them to sit in bushes for hours, no fighting or running after a thief -or worse, a murderer. No, it had been a perfectly enjoyable night, and she even had been blessed enough not to have to put up with Magnum raiding the wine cellar or breaking something. <em>Again</em>.</p><p>After a nice and even more refreshing cup of coffee, she had decided to go for a run on the beach with Zeus and Apollo, and had smiled at how the dogs had fretted around her in joy. The weather was perfect and the breeze relaxing; it looked like the day was going to be beautiful and, most importantly, peaceful.</p><p>Which, in hindsight, should have been the first clue.</p><p>She came back around an hour later, with another freshly brewed cup of coffee, and went to the study with the intention of sorting some paperwork for the estate and organizing the staff’s pay checks. Ever since she’d taken up Magnum’s offer to become business partners, her schedule had become a lot busier as she still had to manage the whole estate.</p><p>And <em>no</em>, becoming owner of said estate hadn’t made things any easier.</p><p>She could have asked Kumu for help if she really needed it, but the older woman was already busy enough and Juliet didn’t like delegating her work to other people. It wasn’t like she couldn’t manage it, either. She just had to anticipate as much as she could so there wouldn’t be any major issue if- <em>no, not if, when</em> a case suddenly came up.</p><p>She absent-mindedly patted Apollo’s head as the two dogs strode to her side, and finally reached the study’s door.</p><p>Only to open it and find Magnum sitting at <em>her</em> desk, using <em>her</em> laptop and clearly not caring that he was, once again, using her stuff without being authorized to. The lads growled at the intruder, although she knew that, rather than considering him as a menace, they were trying to make him run so they could chase after him like they loved to do.</p><p>Though she wasn’t sure whether Magnum had understood that yet, and she certainly wasn’t going to explain that particular fact out to him.</p><p>The majordomo made them sit down with a quick gesture.</p><p>“Magnum,” she called out, barely bothering to smother her already growing irritation, “would you <em>please</em> care to explain why you’re using my laptop when I don’t remember allowing you to?”</p><p>The man-child didn’t even peel his eyes away from the screen and grinned cheekily as he kept clicking and opening tabs for… whatever he was looking up. Juliet risked a glance at the screen, fingers twitching in a mix of curiosity and annoyance.</p><p>
  <em>Why on earth was he looking up articles about cats?</em>
</p><p>“Hey, Higgins, good morning to you too!” he greeted cheerfully. “We got a new client and I said I’d take a few minutes to look up some things and make sure you’d be okay with the case. Went to the study, saw you and the hell hounds were absent, so I figured I could use your laptop for the research while waiting for you to come back. You seriously need to stop changing your password, by the way. Figuring out the new one each time is an awful loss of time.”</p><p>Juliet blinked, before biting back a groan. Magnum would be way too pleased to see he’d managed to get under her skin, so she only raised an eyebrow.</p><p>“Have you considered that, maybe, I use passwords for a reason?” she huffed, tone blank but voice sharp. She didn’t like people going through her stuff. “Said reason being that I don’t want other people using my laptop without my authorization?”</p><p>“Please,” he chuckled, and had the audacity to actually shake his head at her. “Let’s be honest, ‘MagnumGetAwayFromThisLaptop’ is hardly a password. You’re practically inviting me to use it!”</p><p>
  <em>Oh, the nerve of this man.</em>
</p><p>“I certainly am <em>not</em>,” she bit back, as she approached the desk with long, measured steps and stretched an arm to snatch the laptop from Magnum’s hands. She ignored the petty satisfaction tingling in her chest at the indignant noise he made. “What are you even looking at?”</p><p>“Well, our would-be new client is a woman who asked us to find her cat and-”</p><p>“Are you telling me we’re investigating another missing pet case? Didn’t we do that last week too?”</p><p>“And,” he continued as if she’d never interrupted him, “that woman’s convinced it was kidnapped because it’s, according to her own words, ‘one of a kind’, so I was looking it up.”</p><p>He gestured to the device with Juliet was now holding, inviting her to look at his research.</p><p><em> I’ll have to find a new password. </em> <em> A </em> <em> gain </em> , she mentally sighed. <em> How does he manage to figure it out every single time? </em></p><p>Once, she’d literally smashed her fingers randomly on her keyboard to create a new password on her laptop and had written it down on a piece of paper that she had kept on herself the whole time; yet the private detective had still managed to use the device on the next day.</p><p>She didn’t voice her thoughts, though, and looked at the screen instead. True to his words, she noticed different articles about cats. Tortoiseshell cats.</p><p>The majordomo gazed at the screen for a few more seconds, realization dawning on her, before turning to Magnum with a thoughtful hum.</p><p>“Would your missing cat happen to be male, by any chance?”</p><p>An energetic nod. Juliet didn’t miss the way his eyes squinted ever so slightly as he waited for her to continue, an excited glint shining in them as it always did when the former SEAL was thrilled about the prospect of a new challenge. He knew she had come to the same conclusion as he had.</p><p>Genetics were certainly interesting. In order to have a tortoiseshell coat, cats needed to have both alleles of a same gene responsible of the coat’s colour; except that said gene is only present on the X chromosome, which also happens to be the chromosome responsible of the creature’s gender. It meant two chromosomes X were required in order to obtain that specific coat, which was usually only possible for females as they possessed the two required chromosomes, unlike males who had one X chromosome and one Y chromosome. In short, unless there was some kind of genetic accident, tortoiseshell cats couldn’t be male; and when it happened, the cat would usually be sterile.</p><p>That made male tortoiseshell cats incredibly rare. And incredibly valuable.</p><p>“Correct me if I’m wrong, but you’re hoping that is case is going to be more than a simple, random cat getting stuck in a tree?” Juliet asked rhetorically, mind already whirling. “Aren’t you getting a little over-excited?”</p><p>The dark haired man grinned at her again, putting his hands behind his head as he stretched on her chair like he owned the place. He knew he had won her over, and even though she was irritated that he was right, she <em> was </em> indeed pretty intrigued.</p><p>“You know there’s been a lot of reports for missing and kidnapped animals lately, right? Maybe this is related.” He shrugged at the deadpan she sent him. “C’mon, Higgy, don’t tell me you’re not itching to put an end to an animal trafficking ring or two? Send a few cat-nappers to jail?”</p><p>“We’re not even sure it was actually stolen,” she argued. “For all we know, it may just have gone out a little longer than usual and got lost or stuck somewhere. And an animal trafficking ring is quite the stretch, really.”</p><p>The protest sounded weak, even to her ears, and Magnum’s stupidly satisfied smile only grew bigger. Looking very much like the cat who got the canary, he got up, fished his phone from his pocket and waved the device at her.</p><p>“I’ll go tell our client we’re taking the case”, he declared smugly as he went for the door. “We’ll have to meet up with her, so see you in ten at the entrance!”</p><p>The smug face didn’t last long; as he passed her, Zeus and Apollo jumped to their feet and growled at him, urging him to the door and making him yelp. Juliet felt the corners of her mouth twitch up despite herself.</p><p>
  <em>That’s my lads.</em>
</p><p>She rewarded them silently with a fond pat on their heads.</p><p>“Magnum!” she called out to him before he could get out of hearing range. “You’d better not accept chickens or goats as payment this time!”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Pools and Tea</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Magnum and Higgins meet their new client, a wealthy woman.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I'm back! I'm really glad to see you guys enjoyed the first chapter. Thank you so much for your support !</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Magnum whistled in appreciation at the huge mansion they were nearing as he drove them to the portal of the property.</p><p>“Now that’s what I call a nice place. That’s not something you see everyday!”</p><p>“<em>You are joking,” </em>Juliet hissed, exasperated. “Magnum, you literally live in one of the most valuable estates in Hawaii. That is precisely the kind of things you see everyday.”</p><p>“Doesn’t mean I’m not allowed to appreciate what I see! I mean, look at this! How many swimming pools do you think they even have?”</p><p>“Why would you need more than one?”</p><p>“You’re such a killjoy, Higgy. Does your dead, cold heart ever let you have fun from time to time?”</p><p>“You know what, I-”</p><p>Their bickering stopped as they finally reached the portal, and as much as Juliet wanted to chew him out because she was still annoyed at him using her laptop, she knew they had to keep a professional appearance in front of their clients; that was something she had repeated multiple times to the former SEAL. They really couldn’t afford to lose a client or tarnish their reputation because of (Magnum’s) childish antics.</p><p>Magnum reached out of the car to press a button on the intercom, before waving at the camera above the entrance. A voice emerged from the speakers.</p><p>“Mr Magnum?”</p><p>“That’s me!” he answered easily, leaning back in the driver seat. “We’re here to see Mrs Clark for her missing cat.”</p><p>“Very well. You may enter.”</p><p>There was a buzz, and the portal grids opened smoothly. The dark haired man threw a smug look at Juliet, wiggling his eyebrows.</p><p>“They’re nicer than you when it comes to opening portals.”</p><p>“Focus, Magnum,” she chided dryly, ignoring the playful jab.</p><p>He rolled his eyes. “Killjoy indeed.”</p><p>A woman was waiting for them on the porch as they got out of the car.</p><p><em>Mrs Clark</em>, Juliet presumed.</p><p>She looked in her mid-fifties, and was wriggling her perfectly manicured hands nervously as she waited for them. Their new client offered Magnum a radiant albeit wobbly smile and a handshake, placing her other hand on his shoulder in a touch that lingered a few seconds too much to be casual. She leaned over him, thanking him abundantly for coming. It wasn’t the part that confused Juliet the most, though. No, that part was when the woman threw the blonde a weird look, that made her feel slightly out of place.</p><p>Although she was slightly thrown off balance, Juliet slipped on a professional but friendly smile with ease, and took the initiative of reaching for a handshake as well.</p><p>“I’m Juliet Higgins,” she offered, tilting her head slightly. “Magnum’s associate. Nice to meet you.”</p><p>“Oh,” the woman enunciated delicately as she seemed to seize the majordomo up and down with discreet frown, deliberately ignoring the outstretched limb. “I wasn’t aware Mr Magnum had a <em>partner</em>.” The last word was pronounced with slight disdain, as if the mere idea of having an associate was extremely distasteful.</p><p>
  <em>Huh.</em>
</p><p>“I’m sure it must have slipped his mind during your previous telephonic conversation,” Juliet smiled politely as she tucked her hand back to her side and, despite her growing dislike for the woman, she pushed down the urge to just scoff, get into the car and drive back to the estate.</p><p>She highly doubted Magnum had omitted to precise they worked together like he usually did whenever they’d get a new client. The man had many flaws, but light-headedness was not one of them, and she was pretty sure he never missed an occasion to tell people they were associates. For a reason she ignored and wasn’t really sure she wanted to know, he seemed to love reminding people that he had a <em>partner</em> to work with.</p><p>A quick glance at the man in question confirmed her thoughts, because the man in question looked as thrown off as the blonde when he gazed back at her and shrugged in confusion. Clark’s pinched expression deepened and she straightened up like she was trying to make herself look taller. Her eyes scrunched up and she opened her mouth.</p><p>“I did tell you about Higgins, but it’s understandable that you were too preoccupied about your cat to notice.” He intervened gently before the brunette could speak, sensing the situation was quickly growing more awkward with each second passing. Juliet was grateful for the smooth transition. “Shall we get started, Mrs Clark? We need as many details as we can get and we’d like to know who could have gotten close enough to your cat to snatch it.”</p><p>The woman’s frown all but melted as she beamed at the private detective.</p><p>“Please, call me Rebecca” she smiled, voice like honey and words almost <em>purred </em><em>out</em>. “Mrs Clark make me sound too old for my taste. Let’s go inside, I’ll have drinks prepared for us”. With that, she gestured for them to go inside and took the lead, directing them through impressive hallways. Magnum followed her first, and Juliet mimicked him despite the lingering unease.</p><p>As they were walking, he slowed up slightly to get at her level.</p><p>“That was awkward,” he murmured, making sure their client wouldn’t hear them. He peered at her with a scrutinizing gaze, as if making sure she was alright. “Sorry about this.”</p><p>The blonde cringed, before answering in the same tone of voice. “Don’t be ridiculous, this was hardly your fault. It’s not our first time dealing with a rude client; let’s just get over this quickly.”</p><p>Apparently reassured and satisfied with her answer, Magnum nodded before turning back to look in front of him and at Rebecca, eyes darting around as he seemed to try and memorize everything he was seeing.</p><p>Their client lead them to a vast living room that was elegantly decorated. The large Victorian windows gave a beautiful view of the ocean and the neatly maintained French gardens. Everything screamed like sheer opulence and Juliet almost felt like she was going to break anything she would touch.</p><p>Finally, Clark motioned them to sit on the equally expensive looking couches. She sat regally in an armchair, waiting for Magnum to start. But before he could even open his mouth, a young man appeared out of nowhere, steaming mugs aligned diligently on a platter that were served to the three of them. After thanking the gentleman, she peered at the liquid of her own cup and had to stop herself from scowling.</p><p>
  <em>Tea.</em>
</p><p>Out of the corner of her eyes, she noticed her <em>partner</em> throwing her an amused look, before sobering up, and he turned towards Rebecca before clearing his throat awkwardly.</p><p>“So,” he began, “you said over the phone that your cat was kidnapped. Do you already know who the culprit may be? And when did you notice it was missing?”</p><p>“I realized something was wrong yesterday,” the client shook her head, folding her hands neatly on her lap with a frown. “Napoléon never, ever misses his morning meal. So when he never appeared even after I called for him and looked everywhere, I got worried. Sadly, I don’t have any hunch about who could have done this.” She paused, sniffing disdainfully. “Whoever they may be, they must be absolutely despicable.”</p><p>“When did you last see him?” Magnum asked.</p><p>“The day before, just as I was going to bed. He sleeps in my room, you see, but he was gone by the next morning. I figured he was around, somewhere in the mansion. He couldn’t have gone anywhere else on his own.”</p><p>“Could it be possible that he sneaked outside and got lost?” Juliet questioned curiously.</p><p>That was apparently not a good question to ask, because Clark grew upset and her eyes started throwing daggers at the blonde.</p><p>“Of course not!” She sounded absolutely devastated and offended. “I never let him out there. Even in the gardens, he could get hurt or worse! And look at what happened: he disappeared, right under my nose!”</p><p>Rebecca paused, glaring even more intensely at Juliet, before hissing: “I think you can understand that I’m not too pleased at you implying I can’t take care of my pets, <em>miss</em>.”</p><p>If looks could kill, the majordomo would have been reduced to a heap of ashes by now.</p><p>“I didn’t imply anything, and certainly didn’t mean to offend you,” the blonde soothed as she fought to keep her own irritation under control. What was that woman playing at? “I was merely trying to determinate where your cat usually walks around so we could take that into account.”</p><p>She paused, and threw a look at Magnum, cocking her head slightly towards their clients in a silent ask.</p><p>
  <em>I’ll let you ask the question?</em>
</p><p>The dark-haired man instantly understood her gesture and answered her with an almost imperceptible nod. Juliet turned her gaze back to the other woman.</p><p>“If that’s okay with you, I’ll go interrogate some of your staff. Maybe they saw or heard something that could be of use to us.”</p><p>She then proceeded to get up when the brunette nodded stiffly, and after a last look at Magnum she walked out of the room. Hopefully, the relief she was feeling at getting out of that room wasn’t <em>too </em> obvious; at least she didn’t have to drink that awful cup of tea.</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>0-0-0</b>
</p><p> </p><p>She didn’t take long to find a staff member, noticing a maid dusting some bookshelves with precise and quick motions.</p><p>“Hi,” she greeted politely. “I’m Higgins. Your employer hired my associate and myself to find her missing cat. Do you mind if I take a few minutes of your time?”</p><p>“Oh! Yes, of course.” The young woman smiled, and put her feather duster down on a nearby table. “I’m Andrea. I heard about that poor cat. How can I help you?”</p><p>“Well, for starters, I was wondering how frequently you’d see it around the mansion?”</p><p>“Oh, quite often. I don’t know about the others, but I personally see him at each of my shifts. He’s a very friendly and curious cat, and he often comes to watch us or asks to be petted when we’re cleaning a room. I think he’s a bit lonely so he always follows people around.”</p><p>“Is he that friendly with every employee?”</p><p>“I think so? I believe the gardener, Mr Peterson, is scared of him, but I don’t know him that well so I’m not so sure about that. But Sir often hang around the kitchen, because I’ve heard one of the chefs always sneaks some snacks for him.”</p><p>Juliet blinked.</p><p>“Sir?”</p><p>“Yes,” Andrea winced, slightly embarrassed. “That’s how Mrs Clark wants us to call her cat. I apologize, it does indeed sound a little strange for newcomers, but we usually don’t really mind using that title.”</p><p>“… I see.” She didn’t, actually, but nobody needed to know that. “What’s the name of that chef?”</p><p>“I’m afraid I have no idea, since I never met her. I just know it’s one of the female cooks. I’m sorry I can’t be of more help, though I’m sure the other cooks would be happy to tell you more about her.”</p><p>“Oh, it’s perfectly alright. Thank you very much for your help. Would you mind giving me the direction to the kitchens? I’ll leave you alone after that.”</p><p>Andrea was kind enough to lead her to the room, through a maze of rooms and hallways the former spy could have almost gotten lost into, if she had been alone. Juliet thanked her again, and directed her attention to the few employees busy cleaning their working space.</p><p>There were three people, two males and a female, that greeted her curiously as she entered the room. She quickly presented herself and explained the situation, receiving understanding and polite nods in return. Nobody seemed surprised at the fact that there was someone snooping around freely in that huge mansion, which she remarked to the three cooks.</p><p>“Well, Mrs Clark actually often hires private investigators,” one of the employees, a tall, dark-skinned man that looked the oldest of the three, explained with a shrug. “So we’re kind of used to seeing new people looking around. It’s pretty weird the first few times but we quickly get used to it. And we knew for the missing cat so everyone had guessed we’d be seeing a new face or too soon. By the way, I’m Arthur, and this is Leilani and Keanu.”</p><p>“It’s nice to meet you,” Juliet smiled politely. She was glad to observe that they didn’t seem as rude as their employer. “When was the last private investigator hired?”</p><p><em> It </em> <em> wouldn't </em> <em> hurt to check on them </em>, the majordomo thought.</p><p>If their “predecessor” happened to have a knack for dubious activities, that would become a solid lead. It wouldn’t be the first time a private detective would let their greed get the better of them and try to grab a few valuable objects from their wealthy client.</p><p>“It was last month.” Leilani intervened with an eye roll. “She couldn’t find one of her earrings, and went berserk because the poor man she had hired was taking too long for her tastes. He ended up finding the jewel under her vanity desk.”</p><p>She didn’t add anything out loud, but it was clear she thought the situation pretty absurd. Juliet couldn’t exactly bring herself to disagree.</p><p>“Couldn’t she have asked one of the employees?”</p><p>“She’s eccentric like that, and maybe she was afraid we’d steal it instead.” They exchanged a glance and shook their heads, clearly used to their boss’s antics. “But it’s not like we can really complain; we’ve seen people that paid us far worse than her, and she’s usually respectful of our works too, so we get by.”</p><p>“By any chance, do you know the name of the man she hired to look for that earring?”</p><p>“I think it was something starting with an L?” the other man, Keanu, said tentatively, while the two other cooks shrugged. “Lucas? Not, not Lucas. Luke, Luis, Lut- ah! Luther! It was Luther!”</p><p>Well, at least it would be one less suspect on the list. Although the man liked to, as he’d often say, “milk” his clients to get more money, he definitely wasn’t the type to go and steal his client’s cat to sell it on the black market.</p><p>Or so she hoped.</p><p>“I see. Is any of you or your colleagues in the kitchen close with Mrs Clark’s cat?” Juliet continued. “I was told someone would often give it treats, so I was wondering if I could learn a little more about that.”</p><p>“Ah, that must be Amanda. She loves cats and used to have one until it died a few years ago so she’s particularly fond of Mrs Cl- I mean, she’s very fond of Sir,” the female cook coughed, tripping on the “sir”. “I heard say she had ended giving all her cat’s stuff to some local charity, because she was too heartbroken to take another cat. She’s not here today, though, since it’s her day off.”</p><p>“Is there any way I could get in contact with her? Like an address or a phone number?”</p><p>“Absolutely!” Leilani nodded, washing her hands before diving her hand in her back pocket to find her phone. She swiped a few times on the screen, before showing it to Juliet. “I don’t have her number, but I went to her house a few times and had noted her address in my phone just in case. Here, I’ll give it to you. Let me take your phone number, too, so I can keep you updated if I hear about her today.”</p><p>“Thank you, that’s quite helpful. What about the rest of you? Do you know anything that could explain why no one can find that pet? If he behaved weirdly lately or if there was something strange going around?”</p><p>The three chefs exchanged looks, unsure.</p><p>“Well, we do appreciate Sir, but we don’t interact with him that much since we work in the kitchens. You’d have more luck with Amanda. Food and cat fur don’t mix well, and even if we wash our hands thoroughly there’s always a risk of fur getting stuck to our clothes and then falling into the food we’re preparing.”</p><p>“But it didn’t seem to be an issue with Amanda, was it?”</p><p>“She’s always careful around him, so I guess she’s making extra efforts not to get the food contaminated. I think she even have some spare aprons just in case, so she can still pet Sir when he comes to see her. The whole staff pays a lot of attention to the cleaning and the food, because Mrs Clark’s son is allergic to cats.”</p><p>“Oh, I didn’t know she had a son.” She was started to regret not making a background check on their client before following Magnum. “Does he live here? What’s his name?”</p><p>“Henry Clark. Yes, he does have a room here, and he also happens to be the staff manager. He’s not here either, though. I think he’s visiting a friend today, and he has a plane to take tomorrow.”</p><p>Juliet paused, tilting her head questioningly. “He’s going away?”</p><p>“For a business trip to Italy, yes. From what I’ve heard, he’ll be gone for two weeks.”</p><p>“I see. Oh, I have a last question for the three of you, if you don’t mind. Would you happen to know a Mr. Peterson?”</p><p>“You mean James?” Arthur asked, putting his right hand to his chin before continuing. “Yes, he’s one of the gardener. A very nice boy. Afraid of cats, too. The poor man was absolutely terrified when he had to catch Sir when it tried to get out a few days ago. I think he got several scratches.”</p><p>“Is he here today? I’d like to talk to him.”</p><p>“Oh, I think I saw him a little while ago. He’s pretty tall and scrawny, with red hair; you can’t miss him. you’ll probably find him near the pool, since he has to trim the trees around it today. There’s a backdoor here, you can use it if you need.”</p><p>Relieved that there was finally someone that didn’t happen to have a day off today, Juliet nodded, smiling at the three cooks.</p><p>“Thank you very much for you help. Have a lovely day.”</p><p>The blonde stepped towards the mentioned backdoor, grabbing the handle and pulling it open. She was rewarded with Magnum’s slightly surprised face, one hand raised as if about to knock.</p><p>She frowned, peering up and down at him. “What are you doing here?”</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Juliet : I’m a mature woman; Magnum is the one being childish.</p><p>Also Juliet, a week before : let’s put “MagnumIsAnIdiot” as a password.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Claws and Promises</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Our favorite duo meet Mrs Clark's gardener, and plan their next move.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Here I am with another chapter! Thank you so much for your support, it's really heart-warming and I was so happy seeing your kudos and comments!</p><p>On another note, I really hope that I'm not making too many mistakes and that Magnum and Higgins aren't too OOC. Please don't hesitate to notify me if got a remark or want to say something that could help me improve my english ! I'm always accepting constructive criticism :D</p><p>That's all for the moment, enjoy this new chapter !</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Magnum was trying and failing to look casual, shifting his feet slightly as he explained he’d been looking around and that he had seen her through a window. The private detective had then wanted to join, but she had been faster and had opened the door just when he was about to knock.</p><p>They’d quickly gotten further in the gardens, not wanting to bother the cooks for any longer; though the blonde was sure Magnum was disappointed he hadn’t been able to grab a snack on the way.</p><p>There was something off about him. It’s not that he wasn’t a good actor; Juliet was sure than he would have seemed perfectly normal to anyone else (except T.C. and Rick, because thinking they wouldn’t notice their friend’s uncanny attitude would have been quite disrespectful of her). But the majordomo wasn’t anyone else. She was a former spy, trained to observe her target’s quirks and tells, and she <em>knew</em> him. So really, seeing him trying to trick her into thinking he was absolutely fine was slightly insulting.</p><p>“What about Mrs Clark?” she asked, wondering why he had been walking around instead of talking with their client. “Weren’t you with her?”</p><p>She didn’t miss the way he tried to mask the slight grimace seizing his face at the mention of the name, and raised an eyebrow in answer. Oh, something about their <em>dear</em> client had definitely made him upset.</p><p>“I was,” he said, looking slightly to his left as he all but avoided her gaze before seeming to force his eyes back on her. “We talked for a while. It was your basic questioning: ‘Do you think there’s anyone who would want to hurt your cat? Did it behave in a strange way lately?’, but there wasn’t really anything worth noticing. According to her, there was nothing weird about her cat and everybody loved it too much to intentionally hurt it. She seems convinced she’s going to get a message or a call for a ransom but hasn’t gotten anything yet, and I doubt she’s going to get something anyway.”</p><p>“If it’s been missing for two days already, then indeed it seems a little late to get in contact with the kidnapper now,” Juliet agreed, and waited for him to continue.</p><p>“Yeah. So whoever took the pet did so with the intention of not giving it back; that, or that cat managed to escape without anyone noticing and didn’t come back.”</p><p>The majordomo shook her head.</p><p>“That’d be very unlikely. The staff here told me the cat was always following at least one of them around; and they were very careful of its whereabouts because our client’s son is allergic to cat fur, much like you.”</p><p>“Right, I did notice I wasn’t getting any reaction. They have to be cleaning pretty thoroughly. That means they must be keeping an eye on the cat as well so there isn’t any incident when the son is there.”</p><p>“Precisely. Also, there was an incident a few days ago, where the cat almost managed to get outside. It was noticed almost instantly and it was caught by a gardener named Peterson, who’s apparently afraid of it and he managed to get scratched in the process. I was about to look for him.”</p><p>“Ah, yes, I was told about him. I think we need to see that Henry Clarks too, but he’s going abroad tomorrow so we’ll have to do that today. Anyone else you’d like to talk to?”</p><p>“One of the chefs seemed to be close with the cat, but she wasn’t here today. I got her address, though, so we can meet with her.”</p><p>“That’s a good idea,” Thomas nodded. “Let’s go find that gardener first, then. Then we should go see Henry and that cook. What’s her name?”</p><p>“Amanda Sterling.”</p><p>“Alright. Did someone tell you what our mystery gardener looked like, though? This place’s so big I don’t know where to start looking.”</p><p>His eyes glinted in amusement when she mentioned the pool, and he suddenly looked more like himself. Juliet felt an odd pang of relief at the sight but refused to dwell on it.</p><p><em>Focus, Higgins</em>, she told herself in the same tone she had used on Magnum earlier.</p><p>“Don’t tell me they only have one pool?”</p><p>She threw him a glare, and they both looked around in the gardens, bickering lightly as he kept teasing her about asking Robin to add more pools to the estate because <em>the more the merrier, Higgy!</em></p><p>They finally found the place, which was of course as impressive as the rest of the estate. True to the cook’s earlier words, Juliet noticed a silhouette perched on a stool, trying to reach the top of the bush they were trimming. There was a flash of red hair under the large hat they were wearing.</p><p>“That must be him,” she remarked for Magnum, motioning to the employee with a shake of her head.</p><p>The dark haired detective thanked her and went up to the gardener, stopping a few steps in front of the stool.</p><p>“Hi!” he called out, not raising his voice too much as he tried not to scare the other man. “Do you have a few minutes for us?”</p><p>Despite Magnum’s soft tone, the red head still flinched and the stool tilted dangerously, before he managed to stabilize himself. He got down slowly, throwing a curious look at the newcomers.</p><p>“Sorry for that,” Magnum winced. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”</p><p>“Oh no, it’s fine,” the other man reassured. He shot both Juliet and Thomas a polite smile, which accentuated a trio of reddish cuts on his chin. “I wasn’t expectin’ anyone to call me, so it’s on me. Need help for anything?”</p><p>“We’re the private investigators hired by your employer to look for her cat. I’m Magnum, and this is my partner Higgins,” he explained, gesturing to the blonde. She bowed her head in greeting, and Peterson returned the gesture. “That’s quite the scratches you got there.”</p><p>“Ah, yeah,” the gardener laughed nervously, hand reaching unconsciously for his chin, “you guys must be here for the accident that happened a few days ago, aren’t you?”</p><p>Juliet nodded. “Indeed. Would you mind telling us what happened exactly?”</p><p>“Uh, it was three or four days ago. No, three, it was on Tuesday. I was watering the flowers under the main living room’s windows, which were open because Sarah- I mean, one of the employees was mopping the floor, and I noticed the cat coming towards me. So I freaked out a bit because I ain’t so fond of them, except that the cat kept coming towards me and he stepped out of the living room, which made me freak out even more because I knew Mrs Clark was gonna feed me to the sharks if I let it out.”</p><p>“So you tried to catch it,” Magnum guessed through the man’s ranting.</p><p>Peterson scratched at his neck and shuddered at the memory.</p><p>“Yeah,” he said. “Not my brightest moment, I’ll give you that. I panicked so much that I lunged at the cat, which probably scared him, so, like, he tried to get away. I still managed to catch that thing, but he clawed at me trying to get out of my arms. I did manage to get him back inside, but I still got a few memories of our encounter.”</p><p>He removed his gardening gloves and rolled up his sleeves to show the duo the various scratches littering his arms and hands.</p><p>“But that’s about it,” he shrugged. “I never really saw that cat before and trust me, I’ll be careful not to see it again.”</p><p>They kept going with a few more questions, but it was clear to Juliet that Magnum thought Peterson didn’t have anything to do with the cat’s disappearance; and to be honest, she was going in the same direction. Even though some of the cuts could have be gained while trying to steal the cat, the gardener was clearly too uneasy with those pets to be able to handle one of them long enough to spirit them away without anyone noticing.</p><p>It would have also been particularly difficult when the staff here seemed to be particularly <em>chatty;</em> not that she could really complain about it, since it was in playing in their favour this time.</p><p>They nodded their thanks to the employee before stepping away, throwing the red head a last look as he went back up on the stool to finish his work.</p><p>“<span><span>I believe him. I think he’s innocent</span></span><span><span>,” Magnum said</span></span><span><span>.</span></span></p><p>“We can agree on that. Even if he wanted to make money by selling the cat, he’d be too afraid of it to simply snatch it without people seeing him. So, what now?”</p><p>“From what I’ve seen and heard, no one here seem to have something against Clark, so I don’t think the cat was taken in an act of malevolence.”</p><p>“<span><span>Except maybe for the son,” Juliet pointed out. “He’s allergic and maybe resents his mother for k</span></span><span><span>eeping it around, or some obscure reason we don’t know yet</span></span><span><span>.”</span></span></p><p>“That’s a good theory, yes. I guess we’ll have to see for ourselves when we go ask him. We should also check the employees’ financial activities, see if anything looks out of the ordinary. There’s still a big possibility all of this happened because of money.”</p><p>“You mean <em>I</em> will have to check their bank accounts,” she corrected, glaring at him when he grinned. “All of the employees?”</p><p>“<span><span>We may not-” he interrupted himself when her frown deepened, and his mouth twitched in a smile before correcting himself: “</span></span><em><span>You</span></em><span><span> may not have the time for that, you’re right. Maybe at least Henry Clark and the cooks, since you were saying the cat was spending a lot of time a</span></span><span><span>round the kitchens</span></span><span><span>?”</span></span></p><p>“I’ll see what I can do. I’ll start on the way to Henry’s location, then.”</p><p>“I got the address of the friend’s house he was staying at.” Thomas turned around and started moving. “Let’s go.”</p><p>
  <span>
    <span>Juliet blinked, staring </span>
  </span>
  <span>
    <span>at his back a</span>
  </span>
  <span>
    <span>s he started</span>
  </span>
  <span>
    <span> walking in direction of the manor’s entrance, where the red Ferrari was parked. </span>
  </span>
  <span>
    <span>He seemed pressed to leave.</span>
  </span>
  <span>
    <span> She caught up to him, making a point to look at his face before speaking.</span>
  </span>
</p><p>“Shouldn’t we notice Mrs Clark before leaving?”</p><p>“I already told her we’d be leaving soon before I found you,” he answered easily, and never once he looked at her when he talked again. “I still did my part of the job and spoke to some of the employees, though, so don’t worry about that. For someone as… unique as our client, this place is surprisingly devoid of drama and tensions between the employees and their employer.”</p><p>Ah, there it was again. The false casualness, that cheeky smile that was just a little bit too natural. It looked like Magnum... except that it didn’t <em>really</em> look like Magnum. Juliet wasn’t really able to translate this gut feeling into words, which was unsettling. And Juliet didn’t do well with unsettling.</p><p>Usually, hunches were Magnum’s thing. She liked facts and logic way better.</p><p><span><span>Yet for the moment she pushed down the spark of irritation igniting her chest, dutifully ignored the stupidly emotional, irrational part of her mind that felt </span></span><em><span>hurt </span></em><em><span>and agitated</span></em><span><span> at the way he was keeping something from her. She knew that she wasn’t perfect when it came to opening up about their feelings </span></span><span><span>but</span></span><span><span> they’d promised each other </span></span><span><span>they would both try to tell clearly how they were feeling,</span></span> <span><span>back </span></span><span><span>when they were still getting used to their newly official partnership. And now, her partner was upset at something but he wouldn’t tell her why; and </span></span><span><span>that,</span></span><span><span> for some reason </span></span><span><span>she had yet to know</span></span><span><span>, made </span></span><em><span>her</span></em><span><span> upset as well. </span></span></p><p>And she’d be damned if she didn’t do anything about it.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <b>0-0-0</b>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The ride to Henry’s location would be long, Juliet knew that. Magnum had gotten an address in the very center of Honolulu, and they were at the other side of the island. But what made the ride seem even longer was the way Magnum stayed silent, apparently lost in his thoughts and eyes fixed on the road. He’d gently ask from time to time if she was finding anything unusual about the employee’s bank accounts, since she had started working from her phone, but that was it.</p><p>She resisted the urge to fan herself, glaring at the dark clouds appearing on the horizon that were going to make the already hot atmosphere heavier and more humid.</p><p>At first she’d been resolute to wait for him to talk first and tell her what was wrong; but she had seen the clench in his jaw, the serious and irritated glint that would sometimes shine through his eyes, and she’d known, stubborn as he was, that he’d still try to pretend everything was fine. The idiot probably wasn’t even aware of the discreet but constant frown he’d gained since they had left their client’s estate.</p><p>“Alright,” she finally snapped, her last bit of patience lost, “that’s enough sulking. Spill it.”</p><p>Magnum jerked his head in his direction, blinking at her owlishly.</p><p>“Spill what?” he asked, genuinely confused, eyes darting between the road and her face.</p><p>“You’ve been weird since I saw you at the kitchens’ door. Something must have happened.”</p><p>“Hey, first of all, I was the one to find you.” He received an eye roll to that, and grinned a little more genuinely. “Secondly, I’m fine? I didn’t think I was being weird. What’s up with that?”</p><p>“There’s something you’re not telling me,” she accused, something hot and ugly curling in her chest at his denial.</p><p>No, she was <em>definitely</em> not upset. She was just annoyed.</p><p>“But I told you everything,” Magnum defended himself, but that strain was back and his eyes lingered on the road for too long to make him look perfectly honest. “I promise I’m not keeping anything about the case from you. Why would I do that?”</p><p>The blonde bristled, feeling more and more miffed.</p><p>“I don’t know,” she admitted, biting out the words. “I don’t know whether it’s about the case or not, but something happened while I was gone and you won’t tell me what it is.”</p><p>Thomas opened his mouth to speak but Juliet didn’t let him.</p><p>“I know that I’m not a model of perfection when it comes to that kind of thing,” she started, more softly. “But I promised you I’d make efforts to be more open to you because, as you said, we needed to be honest with each other if we wanted to work together efficiently. And you promised the same, too. I don’t care if you think this isn’t related to the case, if you think it’s unimportant. It’s clearly bothering you.”</p><p>She huffed a breath, and didn’t dare look at Magnum to see his reaction so she pretended to get back on checking bank accounts on her phone. She heard him sigh deeply.</p><p>“There was something,” he finally started, and Juliet glanced up in his direction, waiting for him for continue. After a few moments, he did, unusually hesitant. “It wasn’t about the case, or I would have told you right away, I swear. There was just a moment, after you were gone, where the situation turned awkward. It wasn’t anything big.”</p><p>“Yet it’s clearly upsetting you,” Juliet pointed out softly.</p><p>“I’m just not proud of the way I reacted. I lost my calm.”</p><p>She couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow at that declaration.</p><p>“What in the world did that woman say to make you snap at her?”</p><p>He grimaced again, more openly this time.</p><p>“I’d rather not talk about it right now, if you don’t mind.” He noticed Juliet’s look. “Okay, you do mind, and I can’t blame you for that. Look, I promise I’ll tell you in due time, okay? When the case’s over and once we can relax, I’ll tell you every thing you want to know. Pinky swear.”</p><p>There was the shadow of a smile on his face when she chuckled at the childish choice of words that was very Magnum-esque.</p><p>“It’s just,” he began again, stumbling as he seemed to be thinking how to convert his feelings into sentences. “It’s just that I need to cool off first. I’m still irritated at the situation, and at myself.”</p><p>And that was something Juliet could understand.</p><p>“Alright,” she agreed, exhaling softly. “I’ll hold you onto that.”</p><p>A tension she hadn’t noticed building in her body started to dissolve and she felt like it was suddenly easier to breathe.</p><p>His eyes crinkled as he threw her a grateful look.</p><p>“Thanks, Higgy.”</p><p>She shook her head, suddenly remembering her small outburst. He didn’t need to thank her.</p><p>“I’m sorry I reacted so harshly,” she said instead. “I shouldn’t have snapped at you like this. I wasn’t always so honest with you either, so that was maybe a little hypocritical of me.”</p><p>“Don’t be,” Magnum comforted her, which was <em>stupid</em> because she should be the one trying to comfort him. Well, with her own ways of dealing with upset people, at least.</p><p>“You’re right,” he continued, oblivious to her inner monologue, “we do need to be honest with each other. And I may or may not have pestered you with that, so it’s only fair of me to respect my part of the deal.”</p><p>The tension in his shoulders had eased and Juliet hummed, both in relief and in agreement with what he had said.</p><p>“So, have any idea of what could have happened to that cat? Anyone seemed suspicious to you?”</p><p>The dark-haired detective frowned in thought, and the former spy was pleased to notice he was already looking more like himself.</p><p>“Not for the moment. I think that we managed to talk to most of the employees and no one really seemed suspicious. But if you say the cat wasn’t scared of people, it would have been easy for almost anyone to take it away; we just need a motive.”</p><p>He paused.</p><p>“It could be Henry, if he somehow wanted to get rid of this cat. Maybe because of some petty familial discord? But it’s hard to judge the man without meeting him first. It’s definitely not the gardener in my opinion; everyone knows his aversion for cats and I doubt he’s been faking it all this time. What about you? Any idea?”</p><p>“Your guess is as good as mine,” the majordomo sighed, eyes fixated on her screen. “The chefs’ accounts seem perfectly normal, although Sterling looks like she has some financial difficulties, but it’s not anything out of the ordinary. I took the liberty of looking up some maids I talked to, but once again, nothing weird. Peterson’s account looks like your usual employee's account and- wait.”</p><p>She frowned.</p><p>“What is it?” Magnum asked curiously.</p><p>“Henry Clark received around ten thousand dollars on his account this morning.”</p><p>“Oooh. Now that’s not suspicious at all.”</p><p>He seemed happy at the prospect of finally having a suspect, and Juliet couldn’t help but roll her eyes.</p><p>“I can’t dig for more details on this tablet, though. I’d need my laptop, so either we confirm our suspicions when we see him, either we’ll have to get back at Robin’s Nest.”</p><p>“And here I thought you were good with all this spy stuff, yet you can’t even hack devices and accounts without your fancy gadgets.”</p><p>She glared at him but her phone buzzed before she could answer. She blinked at the message that popped up on her screen, and she knitted her brows.</p><p>“Now this is bothersome,” Juliet muttered, before reading aloud for Magnum.“Hi! This is Leilani, one of the chefs you talked to this morning. I heard about Amanda, and I thought you’d like to know. Apparently one of her relatives is sick and she’s going to go take care of them. She’s leaving tonight for Ohio. I hope it’ll help you.”</p><p>“If she’s leaving tonight then we also need to go see her today,” he remarked, thoughtful.</p><p>“But then we wouldn’t be able to go see Henry,” she completed. “If she’s been financially helping her sick relative, that could explain the state of her bank account. Even if Henry’s the most suspicious one at the moment, we should still see both of them; by now they’re pretty much our last leads. Let’s go on separate ways; I’ll talk to Amanda, you to Henry.”</p><p>“It’d be better if we stayed together,” the dark haired man grimaced. “But you’re right. We may not have the time to talk to both of them. Where does Sterling live? I’ll drop you off and drive directly to Henry’s afterwards.”</p><p>“What a gentleman you can be, sometimes.”</p><p>“What do you mean, sometimes?” he groaned, faking offence.</p><p>Juliet shook her head, biting back an amused smile. She glanced at the sky again, noting the dark clouds spreading on the horizon.</p><p>“Did the employees tell you they had to call the cat ‘Sir’ ?” she asked instead of answering him.</p><p>“They have to call it <em>what</em>?”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I swear, I love this show too much. I'm gonna melt into a puddle of pure happiness when season 3 comes out.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Clouds and Ice Cubes</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Higgins interrogates Amanda Sterling, one of their client's cooks.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hey there ! Time for a new chapter !<br/>Once again, thank you sooooo much for your support. I absolutely loved writing this story, and I'm really glad you guys seem to be enjoying it as well !<br/>Don't hesitate to let me know what you think of this chapter ;D</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was around two in the afternoon when Magnum dropped Juliet off at Sterling’s house, in a quiet district.</p><p>“Will you be okay to go back on your own to Robin’s Nest, or do you want me to come back here to pick you up?” he had asked her, and she’d rolled her eyes at his concern.</p><p>“I’ll be just fine, Magnum,” she reassured him. “I’ll just take a Uber, it’ll be faster for the both of us. Go see that Henry Clark; I’ll call you if I get anything interesting.”</p><p>“Alright, alright. See you later, then.”</p><p>“Don’t get into any unnecessary trouble.”</p><p>He threw her a scandalized look as he drove off, shooting back “I resent that!”, and she couldn’t help but chuckle.</p><p>Once he was out of her view, Juliet went to the door directly and knocked three times.</p><p>Understandably, Amanda Sterling seemed confused to open her door to a blonde stranger.</p><p>“Hello, I’m Juliet Higgins,” the majordomo greeted, taking note of woman’s exhausted look. Her dark hair were pulled up in a messy ponytail and there were dark bags underlining her eyes. “Can I take a few minutes of your time?”</p><p>“Hi?” was the woman’s hesitant greeting. “Can I help you with something?”</p><p>“I’m a private investigator,” Juliet explained. Amanda frowned, looking at her questioningly. “I was hired by your employer to look for her missing cat, and I was told you were quite close to him. Do you think you could help me?”</p><p>“Oh, I heard about that poor Napoleon. I love that cat, and to imagine I could never see it again...”</p><p>Sterling’s voice wobbled at the end, and she trailed off, shutting her eyes tightly and pinching the bridge of her nose between two fingers to breathe in deeply.</p><p>“I’m sorry, I’m having trouble keeping my calm today. I just learnt that my aunt had a lung cancer so I’m currently packing to join her, and that kitty disappearing isn’t helping my nerves. I’d love to help, I really do, but I don’t see what I can do for you that wouldn’t make me miss my flight.”</p><p>“It’s absolutely understandable,” the blonde said in what she hoped was a soothing tone. “I’m very sorry to be bothering you when you’re already having such a hard time. Maybe you could tell me about the cat’s habits and if you had noticed anything strange about his behaviour? From what I was told, you were the one to know him best.”</p><p>“I- I guess I could try that, yes” Amanda nodded shakily, hesitating slightly.</p><p>It looked like she wanted Juliet to be gone as soon as possible, which could have been because of her current familial situation and the fact that she was packing her things. But in a case with a missing case and a scheduled flight that would allow one of their suspects to leave Hawaii, it was also suspicious. And there was this unexplainable feeling poking at the back of her mind, a sudden urge to investigate this woman because something didn’t feel right.</p><p><em>Better safe than sorry, then,</em> <span>Juliet mused.</span></p><p>“That’d be wonderful. Would it be alright if I asked for a glass of water? I wasn’t able to drink anything since this morning and my throat is starting to itch.”</p><p>She’d have to thank Magnum and the sometimes ridiculous excuses he’d use to get into someone’s home. And, well, she hadn’t be exactly lying after all. It was pretty hot now, the dark clouds having definitely settled over the island and making the atmosphere humid and heavy, and she had been running around the whole morning in an oversized property managed by a pretentious cat-lady.</p><p>Amanda hesitated again, and looked back, peering at something over her shoulder. She seemed to ponder whether to accept Juliet’s request for a few moments before reluctantly inviting the blonde inside and offering her to sit on a ragged couch.</p><p>“I’m sorry again for my attitude,” the chef declared nervously, as she scratched at the back of her neck. “I haven’t been able to calm down since the last few days and I wasn’t expecting anyone to visit right now.” She threw a glance at a mural clock. “I’ll have to go in about an hour. Would you like some iced tea? You must be parched with this heat.”</p><p>“I’d love that, thank you.”</p><p>“I’ll be right back, then.”</p><p>She came back a few moments later, with two glassed filled with ice cubes and an amber liquid. Despite her dislike for the beverage when it was hot, Juliet gratefully accepted the glass and sighed discreetly in appreciation when the cool liquid soothed her throat, eyes darting around the room to take in as many information as she could. The living room they were currently in was a mess, but that was nothing really surprising if its occupant was in a rush to leave.</p><p>“So,” Juliet started after a few moments, as she directed her attention back to Amanda and scrutinized her. “Did you find anything strange about the cat’s or the staff’s behaviour lately? Something that you think could be linked to the disappearance?”</p><p>She took another sip of her drink, almost completely draining the glass, while waiting for the other woman’s answer. Amanda had been right, she had really been parched. The majordomo glanced at the cook, looking for any thing in her posture that could have made her suspicious. There didn’t seem to be any scratch on her arms or hands so it was at least safe to say the cook hadn’t tried to forcefully hold the cat, but- wait.</p><p>Her eyes squinted slightly, focusing on Sterling’s clothes. Was that fur on her shirt?</p><p>Juliet then blinked, realizing she had zoned out, and focused back on what Amanda was saying.</p><p>“… so no, except for the incident with M. Peterson, there was nothing weird,” the woman finished, shaking her head.</p><p>“And did you see the pet, the day of its supposed disappearance?”</p><p>Sterling stammered. “See the-? I- no, I didn’t. I found it strange that I didn’t see Napoleon at all that morning. But I, uh, didn’t react any more than that.”</p><p>Juliet hummed, unconvinced by her reaction, and stared at her glass for a few moments, thoughtful. It was only when she glanced up again that she realized Amanda had talked, and that she’d zoned out again. She hoped the chef wasn’t asking her a question.</p><p>“You look like you’re quite familiar with cats. Do you have one yourself?” the majordomo said instead, trying hard to concentrate again on the conversation, and she noticed the woman’s jaw clench at the words.</p><p>“I- Yes, I do. A lovely kitty named Princess, she’s about nine months old,” was the answer, which somehow felt wrong, “But I asked one of my friends to keep her, since I can’t take her with me and I don’t know how long I’ll be gone.”</p><p>There was a loud thud in the next room, and both women startled.</p><p>“Is there someone else there?” she asked, an annoying feeling of unease jolting through her body, that she could neither shake off or explain.</p><p>“N-no,” Sterling stammered, not quite managing to be convincing.</p><p>Then Amanda spoke again, and the blonde blinked at her. It wasn’t that she had zoned out again, no, this time the words just didn’t make any sense.</p><p>“Come again?” Juliet asked confusedly.</p><p>The cook spoke again, but she still couldn’t grasp what was being said. She felt too tired to try and understand anyway. Still, there was a small, paranoid part of her mind screaming at her that she needed to figure out the situation.</p><p>The drink…?</p><p>She shook her head and the world came back into focus.</p><p>“I’m sorry, I didn’t catch what you were saying,” she finally managed to say, though her voice felt too slack for her liking. “What was it?”</p><p>“Are you alright?” Amanda repeated. “You look pale.”</p><p>Did she? She tried to raise a hand to her face but it felt sluggish and barely moved. She frowned in confusion at the offensive limb.</p><p><em>Spiked</em>.</p><p>The word came through like lightning, and a sudden rush of adrenalin helped her to get through the sluggish haze quickly ensnaring her mind.</p><p><em>Her cat died months, ago, and she was supposed to have given all of her</em><em><span> stuff to charity,</span></em> she remembered Leilani saying.</p><p>She needed to get out of here. But would she manage to?</p><p>Realizing she had yet to answer the other woman, Juliet forced a sheepish smile on her lips.</p><p>“I feel a little dizzy, actually.” That was an understatement. “I’m very sorry, but can I ask for another glass? Maybe I’m dehydrated. It’s really hot.”</p><p>“Of course, it wouldn’t be surprising with that heat.” the bundle of nerves that was Amanda readily agreed. The blonde should definitely have been more suspicious of that anxiousness.</p><p>The chef took the glass from her guest’s now shaky hands and rushed to the kitchen. Juliet took advantage of the situation to fish her phone out of her pocket.</p><p><em>Please</em>, she mentally prayed. <em>Please, make it work. </em></p><p>She miraculously managed to type a quick “help spiked drink” to Magnum, before lowering the sounds until the device was completely silent to finally hit the call button. Hearing Amanda coming back, she leaned forward to slide the phone under the couch.</p><p>The former spy tried to get up and the world spun in a blur of colours around her, hitting her with a wave of nausea. She stumbled and tried to catch herself with the top of the couch.</p><p>She heard someone crying in out in surprise and felt hands trying to help her stand.</p><p>“I think I should go. I don’t feel well”, she tried to say, but her tongue felt too heavy and the result was a mumbled bunch of nonsense.</p><p>The hands tried to steer her body in a direction that was definitely not the main door, and Juliet felt panic finally kicking in. She tried to fight off, but her movements were sluggish and uncoordinated; she only managed to trip herself, and fell head first to the floor. The contact with the cold, hard tiles was like a signal to her brain, and the last bit of her strength abandoned her. She couldn’t bring herself to move any more and only managed to shift her head, groaning softly.</p><p>Another wave of nausea hit her, and she felt herself giving up to the darkness pulling her to unconsciousness. The last thing her brain processed was a distressed voice sobbing excuses.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>... Oops? :)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Boredom and Phone Calls</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Magnum is starting to consider whether it's possible to die from boredom, until he learns about the troubles his partner got in.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hey there! I hope you guys are alright.<br/>I apologize for the last's chapter ending. I'm now starting to understand why authors like cliffhangers so much.. this is borderline sadistic. But hey, at least you didn't have to wait that much, right ? :)</p><p>Again, thank you sooooo much for your support, your kudos and your kind words. It really makes my day a thousand times better and I can't thank you guys enough for this. </p><p>Without any further ado, please enjoy this new chapter!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Thomas was definitely not having a good time. It’s not like he was having a bad time, mind you, but he definitely should have convinced Higgins to be the one going to Henry’s.</p><p>From one to ten on the scale of boredom, he was certainly reaching a good twelve by now.</p><p>He nodded absent-mindedly at Henry, who was still wailing about his mother.</p><p>“Do you even realize? Throwing a birthday party each semester for a cat? When she can barely remember mine? Listen, man, I love that pet from the bottom of my heart but that’s just getting ridiculous. It’s like that one time-”</p><p><em>Aaaaaaand</em> it was time to zone out again. There had been nothing interesting, really. The private detective has understood from the moment he’d seen Clarks’ son that he was (disappointingly?) not linked in any way to their missing pet case.</p><p>The young man, although very nice, clearly had issues with his mother. Not that he could blame him, considering who the mother in question was.</p><p><em>Focus, Magnum,</em> a little voice that sounded suspiciously like Higgins’s reminded him mentally.</p><p>The sudden income of money on the guy’s account apparently came from a bet with his friends, on a horse race and that he’d won. Henry even had his friends confirm his explanation; and he was definitely not the type to kidnap and/or get rid of his mother’s cat in order to get more attention from her. If anything, he even seemed peeved at the fact that the pet was missing because it meant Mrs Clark was paying him even less attention that usual.</p><p>He was getting so <em>bored</em>.</p><p>In the end, the former SEAL had found himself listening for the last twenty minutes to the wealthy son’s ranting about how his mother never really cared about him and how she barely ever gave him anything. Which Thomas wasn’t exactly convinced of when he remembered the simply beautiful Lamborghini he’d seen parked outside. Even Henry’s friend, an adrenaline junkie who seemed to spend his life sky diving, if the walls covered in photos from his adventures were anything to judge by, seemed exasperated at the whining. At least he’d been kind enough to offer Magnum a nice, cold beer that made the heavy and thunderous atmosphere more bearable.</p><p>Thinking back about the case, Thomas couldn’t help but frown. They didn’t have anything concrete, which was starting to be frustrating. Except for Sterling’s financial troubles, there had be nothing out of the ordinary. Hell, it was even too ordinary. Normal employees with normal relationships and the major events of the year had been a poor gardener getting a scratch when trying to catch the pet, as well as a stupidly huge birthday party for a cat. Those crazy rich people were seriously starting to get on his nerves.</p><p>He hoped Higgins would be able to find something on her side, or they’d be back to square one.</p><p>Maybe Clark had organized a fake kidnapping in order to gain sympathy? No, that didn’t make sense. That required too much preparation and it was too risky. Sure, the woman was eccentric, but maybe not to that point.</p><p>Really, this case was starting to irritate him. And Henry was still talking, apparently telling some old story about how his mother had forgotten him at a store but had remembered the precise amount of time that had passed since she’d adopted her wonderful kitty. Which was why the text notification, announced by a buzz from his phone, became one of the most beautiful sounds in the world to him.</p><p>He swiftly retrieved the phone for his pocket and read the screen even as his not-so-suspect kept on talking.</p><p>“<em>T.M, why is there someone talking about </em><em>some promised </em><em>free chopper tour? Again?”</em></p><p>Nevermind, the sound didn’t sound that pretty, in the end. Thomas could clearly feel his friend’s irritation through the message.</p><p>Oops.</p><p>He sent a quick text promising he’d pay for the fuel, and imagined with a grin the eye roll T.C. was probably making. The whole thing went completely unnoticed by the other young man, who was still ranting.</p><p>Thomas was about to pocket his phone again but was momentarily stopped by another soft buzz from the device. He wondered if he really wanted to suffer his friend’s ire now, but before he could decide if it was best for him to answer T.C. now or if he should wait a little, the phone started barking distinctly. That made Henry stop, looking at the phone in pure confusion. The former SEAL almost sighed in relief, more than happy to be able to escape the man’s babbling.</p><p>“I’m sorry, I have to take this call,” he announced. “I’ll be right back.”</p><p>He jumped to his feet giddily, hoping Higgins would be bearing some good news for their case. He quickly got outside, and answered the call.</p><p>“Higgy! Please tell me you got something, it’s a total dead end on my side.”</p><p>No answer. There was a muffled sound from the other side of the line.</p><p>“Higgins?” He tried again.</p><p>Another muffled sound, the suddenly there was a louder noise that sounded like a voice. His blood went cold.</p><p>“Juliet?”</p><p>Someone talked in a low voice but Thomas couldn’t understand what they were saying. It was followed by a heavy thud, like something falling. And then someone was talking again.</p><p>No. Not talking. Sobbing.</p><p>“<em>I’m so sorry</em>,” a voice, distinctly feminine and distinctly not Juliet, whimpered almost hysterically.</p><p>It was like someone had punched him in the stomach, leaving his lungs devoid of air. He was already running to his car, breathing quickening as he strained to try and hear anything that could be useful, that would prove that Juliet was okay-</p><p>“<em>This is getting out of hand</em><em>,</em>” it continued, “<em>I didn’t want to </em><em>do that</em><em>. </em><em>You shouldn’t have come here, you should have just</em>-”</p><p>“<em>Stop your damn whining</em>,” growled another voice, this time male. “<em>If you didn’t want that to happen, you should have made her leave right away.</em>”</p><p>“<em>But she’d have been even more suspicious</em>!” the woman cried out, hiccuping. “<em>You didn’t see how she was looking around, I’m sure she knew already. </em><em>Besides, you’re the one who made too much noise</em><em>!</em>”</p><p>“<em>Then shut up and take responsibility. We can’t leave her here or she’ll go find the cops.</em>”</p><p>“<em>But... But then what are we going to do with her?</em>”</p><p><em>Nothing</em>, Thomas’s mind snarled viciously. <em>If you got at least an ounce of common sense and survival instinct, you’re not going to do anything.</em></p><p>There was no way he’d let something happen to another member of his <em>ohana</em>.</p><p>“<em>Take her with us or get rid of the corpse once we kill her</em>,” was the male’s answer. “<em>Since her private detective buddy last saw her here, we’ll be the prime suspects if the cops find her body. We’d have to be careful and we don’t have the time to make sure the corpse won’t be able to be identified.</em>”</p><p>“<em>No, no, no, please don’t.. please just don’t kill her. We’re not murderers</em>.” She sounded horrified. “<em>Let’s take her with us, yes? She can be... leverage. She can be leverage</em>.”</p><p>“<em>Why the hell would we need leverage?</em>”</p><p>“<em>Think about it</em>!” the woman hissed. “<em>Her partner knows she’s here and he’s probably going to tell the police. She can buy us enough time for us to get away safely. Your friend’s picking us up at eleven tonight, right? We can make them believe we want a ransom and steer them off in the wrong direction.</em>”</p><p>Thomas filed the information in a corner of his mind on instinct, heart soaring. He waited for the voices to keep speaking, but there was only shuffling sounds that gradually softened, until they were completely gone. There was bile raising in his throat at the idea of two criminals carrying away a clearly unconscious Higgins.</p><p>He took the phone off his ear, staring blankly at the screen. He realized belatedly he had unconsciously recorded the call on his phone, which was a good thing. That was when he noticed he had also received a message from Juliet. Probably the one he had got just before the call.</p><p>“<em>help spikd drnik</em>”</p><p>It wasn’t hard to figure out what she had intended to type. He cursed, quickly dialing Katsumoto’s number. His other hand tightened painfully on the steering wheel as he waited for the man to pick up, knuckles whitening.</p><p><em>They were taking Juliet away.</em> He had to be quick.</p><p>“<em>Magnum,</em>” was the grumbled greeting he received. “<em>I d</em><em>on’t</em><em> have the time for your semantics. Go bother someone else-</em>”</p><p>“Higgins got kidnapped,” he interrupted, not in the mood for pleasantries either, and he hated the way his breathing trembled as he talked. He exhaled quickly, forcing himself to focus. “We were investigating a case, and Juliet went to ask some questions to some cook named Amanda Sterling, and now she’s been abducted.”</p><p>There was profuse cursing on the other end of the line. He told Katsumoto as much as he could, starting with the woman’s address, following with the phone call he’d received from Higgins and the bits of conversation he’d heard between a woman that was probably Amanda and another unidentified male.</p><p>“<em>I’ll join you there</em>,” Katsumoto said. “<em>Don’t do anything stupid</em>.”</p><p>“Can’t promise anything.”</p><p>Ending the call, he dialled another number.</p><p>“Rick,” Thomas greeted sharply. “Higgy’s in trouble. She got taken by some woman called Amanda Sterling. Can you-”</p><p>His friend’s tone was deadly serious, yet the interruption was gentle. “<em>I got you, </em><em>Thomas</em><em>. </em><em>I’ll look that woman up. </em><em>Where are you</em>?”</p><p>“Driving to Sterling’s place now. Can you warn T.C. for me?”</p><p>“<em>Will do. I’d tell you to be careful but we both know that’s not gonna happen. </em><em>We’ll join you as soon as possible.</em>”</p><p>“Thank you, Rick.” The gratefulness was thick in the private detective’s voice, and he appreciated more than ever how his friends were always to drop everything to help Juliet and him.</p><p>“<em>Of course, T.M. You know we’d always do anything for our ohana.</em>”</p><p>The call ended again, and the former SEAL threw his phone on the passenger seat and stepped on the accelerator. He arrived to the chef’s home in a record time, and threw himself out of the car as he dashed to the door.</p><p>He didn’t bother knocking, knowing there’d be nobody to open the door to him. Thomas certainly didn’t have the patience to try picking the lock (not that he’d ever admit he’d have lost even more time because of the slight tremor running along his hands) and trying to kick the door open never worked in real life.</p><p>So he decided to go for the window instead, breaking it open with a fast and rage-filled punch, and jumped in what looked like the living room. He rushed through all the rooms, opening every door, every closet, anything that would be big enough to hide somebody.</p><p>But there was no one left. No Higgins.</p><p>
  <span>He felt like punching something again. His heart was trashing wildly in his chest.</span>
</p><p>What if she ended up like Nuzo? Would he find her, lifeless and bloodied, eyes dull and muscles slack, in some abandoned vehicle?</p><p>He breathed deeply, reminding himself that now wasn’t the time to panic. He went back to the living room, snooping around, throwing cushions around and not minding the least the mess he was creating. He looked behind and under the different pieces of furniture, lowering himself to the ground to peek at under the table, the chairs, the couch-</p><p><em>There</em>.</p><p><span>He managed to stretch his hand far enough to grab the device, instantly recognizing Higgins’s phone. The pri</span>vate detective frowned at the device like it had personally offended it, and turned it on, checking whether there was something interesting on it. Since she hadn’t kept her phone with her, they wouldn’t be able to locate her, but it probably wouldn’t have changed anything since her kidnappers would have searched her and gotten rid of the device. At least she’d been able to warn him.</p><p>He was pulled from his thoughts by the creaking sound of a door opening and he whirled around, ready to fight.</p><p>“Easy, it’s just me,” Katsumoto started softly, hands raised in a peace gesture. He was glancing at Magnum worriedly, as if he was half-expecting the other man to jump at his throat.</p><p>Usually, the former SEAL would have made some quip about how long the cops had taken to get there, but he couldn’t seem to force the words out.</p><p>“The broken window is my fault,” he said instead. “And so is the mess. I looked for her phone.”</p><p>“I... noticed.” The words were enunciated carefully, and the officer glanced at the window in question, then at Magnum’s left hand with a raised eyebrow.</p><p>Thomas followed his gaze and finally noticed his bloodied limp. He hadn’t even realized he’d hurt himself.</p><p>“Oops?” he offered.</p><p>He received a deadpan in answer.</p><p>“You’ll have to wrap that up.”</p><p>“Later,” the private detective promised. “We got more urgent matters for now.”</p><p>Katsumoto didn’t quite look happy at that, but he just threw the other man a glance that clearly said “<em>Don’t force me to take you to the hospital</em>” before motioning to his colleagues to come inside.</p><p>“Found anything else?”</p><p>“Not yet.”</p><p>He was handed gloves that he dutifully put on despite his bloody hand and the mess he had already created in the whole house, if only to please Gordon, and along with the police officers they rummaged through the whole house.</p><p>Hair and what looked like fur were found, but waiting for the lab’s results would take a time they couldn’t afford waiting for.</p><p>An agent called for Katsumoto from the kitchen and Magnum followed right behind him.</p><p>“I found this hidden in the back of a closet,” they explained, handing the officer what looked like a medicine box. Thomas craned his neck from behind Gordon to peer at the discovery. “Those are sedatives.”</p><p>It wasn’t hard to put two and two together. Gordon frowned at the box.</p><p>“Magnum, you said Higgins sent you a text and then called you, right?”</p><p>“That’s what she did, yes,” he answered easily, tilting his head questioningly. “Why that?”</p><p>“She must have quite the skills to be able to think and act that fast after ingesting this kind of crap,” the officer explained, almost sounding impressed. “I know that kind of sedatives, even when well dosed they’re able to knock out an elephant in a matter of seconds.”</p><p>“I’m sure she’ll appreciate the compliment.”</p><p>He blinked, ignoring Katsumoto’s eyeroll, as a thought occurred to him.</p><p>“Do you know if that thing could have been used to drug an animal? Like a cat?” he asked.</p><p>Gordon didn’t answer, thoughtful, but another agent nodded, eyes squinting as she read the inscriptions and warnings on the box.</p><p>“It could, I think. We’d have to ask the lab to make sure but I don’t see anything that would be fatal to pets here. It’s a matter of dosing the good amount.”</p><p>At the officers’ curious looks, Magnum shrugged.</p><p>“We were looking for a missing cat, that was likely abducted by an employee of the woman who hired us,” he explained. “Apparently, the woman living here, Amanda, often fed the pet. She could have drugged it so she could take it away without any trouble.”</p><p>“Why would she?” Katsumoto inquired, stretching his hand to the female agent in a silent ask to examine the medicine himself again.</p><p>“Higgins saw she had some serious financial trouble. That’s most likely her motive. All our other suspects looked clean so that woman was our last lead. I dropped her off here before going to another suspect, because both were leaving soon and we really needed to see the two of them before they left.”</p><p>He received a knowing look from Gordon.</p><p>“Don’t beat yourself up, Magnum. Neither of you could have predicted this.”</p><p>“Couldn’t we have, though?” he asked back, more for himself.</p><p>“No. Don’t be an idiot and move on, there’s more pressing matters as for now,” Gordon declared, and to anyone else it could have sounded harsh, but Thomas recognized it as Katsumoto’s rough but honest way of comforting him. The guy was pretty worried too, if his furrowed brows (or, well, the they were frowning more than usual) were any indication. “Let’s go back to the police station. You heard the guy talk about a fake ransom, right?”</p><p>“Yeah.”</p><p>“Follow us, then. We’ll wait for the call and dig in that Amanda person’s files and see if she has any shady connections.”</p><p>Thomas hesitated, but he had the feeling the police officer wouldn’t take no for an answer.</p><p>“Alright,” he finally conceded. I’ll follow you with my car. I just need to do something first.”</p><p>Katsumoto stared at him for half a second, before sighing and stepping towards the door.</p><p>“Tell Wright and Calvin to stay out of HPD’s way, but if they find anything they have to tell us. I don’t want to know what they’re going to do but I really don’t need you guys running in any more trouble,” he said before leaving.</p><p>The former SEAL couldn’t help to wonder when he and his brothers had become so predictable.</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hope you liked it! Don't hesitate to let me know what you thought of this chapter c:<br/>Next chapter will be up on thursday evening !</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Cages and Rage</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Juliet is starting to feel very, very annoyed.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hey guys! As promised, here's the new chapter c:</p><p>So, you may have noticed : I suck with chapter titles. Or just titles in general. I had to rack my brains for hours before coming up with this story's title, and I'm pretty sure it could be wayyyy better than.. this. Oops?</p><p>I can't thank you enough for your kindness. I feel like dancing and wailing each time I read your comments, and they honestly make my days a thousand times better. You gents rock !</p><p>Hope you'll enjoy this chapter :D</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When Juliet came to herself, her head was killing her and her mouth felt like it had been filled with cotton. Her eyes remained stubbornly closed, as if unconsciously trying to soothe her headache by refusing to let any light filter in.</p><p>It didn’t change much in the end, because when she finally managed to open them, it was dark. She tried to get up, except that she couldn’t, because <em>of course</em> she was tied up.</p><p>It would have been too easy.</p><p>As she managed to slowly get her senses back, it was the smell that hit her first. It smelled like hay, excrements and <em>animals</em>. She mentally cursed Magnum and his joke about animal trafficking rings, because <em>of course</em> the man would jinx it. It was safe to say she wasn’t surprised when she noticed the breathing and whimpering from various directions around her; she’d later probably be appalled at herself for how long she’d taken to notice all of this, but in her defence, the drug had hit <em>hard</em>.</p><p>Juliet glanced around her, head pounding and limbs aching, as she tried to see past the bars of the dozens of cages scattered around, in the hope of recognizing what Magnum and her had been looking for. She was interrupted when a door was violently thrown open, resonating loudly against a metallic wall and making her wince as light brutally flooded the dark place. A shadow stepped inside and stormed to the pole she was attached to with heavy steps. It towered over her while barking words that her drugged brain couldn’t grasp the meaning of.</p><p><em>This is certainly not the way I had imagined my day going</em>, she mused as she stared blankly at the gun being waved in her face.</p><p>
  <em>So much for a peaceful day.</em>
</p><p>She finally realized she wasn’t the one the man was talking to, as she saw a much slimier figure joining him, raising hands as if trying to appease and placate the bigger man.</p><p>Amanda, her definitely slow mind recognized a few beats later.</p><p>She tried to listen to the argument the two were having but it felt like her head was underwater. She still had the distinct feeling it was about her.</p><p>The man ended up storming off, but not without first throwing Juliet a thunderous glare that promised bad news. She ignored him. She was trying to stay alert, she really did, but her head was spinning and her eyelids too heavy, and she dozed off.</p><p>When she woke up again, Amanda was still alone with her, in that same room that she now recognized as a warehouse. Noticing she was awake, the cook sighed, and crouched up in front of her with a worried and -surprise– nervous look. The blonde noticed she was shaking lightly but attempting to hide it by crossing her arms.</p><p>“How are you feeling?” she asked, like the answer wasn’t obvious enough.</p><p>As much as the majordomo would have loved to go for a sarcastic answer, she wasn’t sure she would have been able to get the words out correctly, which was extremely annoying. She settled for a deadpan instead. It seemed to convey the message well enough.</p><p>“Yeah,” the chef winced, “that was a stupid question. I’m sorry.”</p><p>Juliet wasn’t sure if the other woman was sorry for the question or for the whole situation, but she honestly didn’t really care. Amanda got up, and went out of her field of view before reappearing a few moments later, an opened water bottle in hand.</p><p>“This one isn’t poisoned, I promise,” she said nervously, sensing her captive’s suspicious look. “But you need to drink a little, or you’re gonna be seriously dehydrated.”</p><p>“Nice of you to care,” the blonde managed to croak out; yet she accepted the drink, as her throat felt as dry as a desert and she’d definitely be more functional with some more water. Amanda hold the bottle awkwardly to her mouth, letting her drink about half of the bottle. “Thank you.”</p><p>Maybe she’d manage to change the woman’s mind if she was polite enough. Sterling seemed overall like a nice woman who had ended up in a not-so-nice situation, and she was probably the one who’d convinced her accomplice not to kill her, so despite her situation Juliet felt some pity for her. The former spy looked around, and assessed her situation. They were bruises in the crook of her left arm and she wondered just how long she’d been kept sedated.</p><p>“What time is it?”</p><p>“Evening.” The cook answered vaguely, clearly not intending to be more precise.</p><p>At least she would have tried. Juliet pretended to stretch her stiff neck, the movement allowing her to hide how she was actually testing the ties linking her hands around the pole. Her legs were untied and spread in front of her, which would definitely be useful for when she’d get free. That was a rookie mistake from her captors and she was certainly not going to complain about it. Her arms were most likely bound together with zip ties, which while annoying weren’t impossible to get rid of.</p><p>She’d gladly put up with a dislocated thumb or two if that could help her get out of here.</p><p>“So,” she tried again, gaining Amanda’s attention. “Why are you doing this?”</p><p>“I don’t really want to talk about it,” the other woman hissed, none too gently this time. “You don’t need to know.”</p><p>“I already know you’re the one who took that cat,” she argued, purposely leaving Magnum out of the subject for the moment in the meagre hope the criminals would have forgotten about him, “and that it’s because of financial issues. Your buddy was probably the one who made noise when we were at your house, so while I don’t know who he is, he definitely planned the catnapping with you. What I don’t really get is this whole...” she paused, motioning at herself the best she could with a shake of her head, “getting a hostage shtick.”</p><p>“You don’t know <em>anything</em>,” the other snapped at her. She was getting agitated, which really wasn’t reassuring. “You don’t know what it’s like to be desperate for money, to the point of actually considering selling a kidney. You don’t know what it’s like, to see your boss strutting around in a damn mansion, throwing money around for a cat, while you’re drowning under debts and medical bills. You don’t have the right to <em>judge</em>. Not when you’re living in an estate and not when you don’t know what it’s like to have hunger gnawing at your stomach every freaking second.”</p><p>She <em>did</em> know what it was like, actually, but that wasn’t the point. However, it was certainly interesting to note the woman had made her research.</p><p>“I get you’re desperate,” Juliet nodded, her headache and annoyance getting worse at her captor’s shrill and panicked voice. “But why would you take me with you? Why just not let me at your place and run away with the pet and your friend?”</p><p>“Because you’d have warned the police,” Amanda spat. “And we couldn’t let you ruin everything. Not now, not ever. You should just be thankful we didn’t kill you.”</p><p>“You’re not a killer.” The majordomo’s tone was soft, and she hoped it’d be enough to calm the other woman down.</p><p>“I’m not,” said woman confirmed with a shudder. “But Jonathan? He’ll gladly do it if he starts to believe you’re going to make the mission fail.”</p><p>She didn’t have to time to think an answer to that, because the door flew open again a few moments later. Juliet tried and failed to see anything useful past the door frame. The bulky guy, apparently named <em>Jonathan</em>, went to them and stopped at their level, eyeing her like she was the source of all evil in the world.</p><p>“Cops are stationed in front of your house, so that damn detective must have gone to them” he grumbled. “Time to call him.”</p><p>He held up a roll of duct tape and the blonde had to physically refrain herself from eye-rolling as he roughly tore a bit of the tape as a makeshift gag to prevent her from talking.</p><p>“But we’re not going to do the exchange, are we?” Amanda asked, observing her accomplice’s action awkwardly.</p><p>“Of course not. Even if they manage to prepare the money it’d be suicidal to try and get it. We’ll get more than enough with all of those damn animals.”</p><p>It took Juliet way too long for her taste to realize that it could be her chance. If they could manage to trace the call, they’d be able to find her. Considering that the man didn’t bother masking his real voice, chances were he didn’t exactly know how long it’d take for Katsumoto’s team to trace the call back to them. It’d also be a risk, because that meant he’d make the call as short as possible, but at least he’d be distracted enough not to pay attention to her.</p><p>She shifted, muscles tensing and preparing to bolt, as she started working on the zip ties. The sudden adrenalin spike helped her focus, and she strained to hear the conversation.</p><p>Jonathan gestured at Amanda to step away, and she quickly obeyed, retreating to the door. He turned around, and the blonde’s eyes zeroed on the gun she could see on his belt. She threw a glance, making sure the other woman wasn’t noticing her hands, but the cook was too preoccupied with her accomplice and wasn’t paying her any attention.</p><p>“Mr Magnum. I have your friend,” said accomplice all but growled, “and if you want her back and alive, you’re going to do exactly what I say.”</p><p>She couldn’t hear the answer but Juliet presumed it was Magnum on the phone. Hopefully, he was with Katsumoto, or else it wouldn’t be of any use if she tried to gain time but no one to trace the call.</p><p>“I’m not stupid, I know you’re with the cops right now. Don’t play with me or you’ll regret it.” Jonathan continued. He threw Juliet a look and she froze, staring at him defiantly. “You don’t get to make demands, <em>I do</em>. But if you really want to know, then yes, for the moment she’s fine. And she will be as long as you do as I say.”</p><p>He paused again, listening to whatever Magnum was saying.</p><p>“I’ll send you proof of it later. For the moment you’ll have to take my word for it. I want three millions deposited behind the Pohakea elementary school in two hours.”</p><p>She realized he was going to end the call, and Katsumoto’s team was likely not done yet. Deciding that discretion wasn’t important any more, she pulled and twisted and pushed until she had to bite back a cry of pain, hands finally sliding out of the ties.</p><p>And then she <em>leaped</em>. Her pent up rage and frustration at the whole situation, the whole case, mixed together with adrenalin as a formidable fuel that all but propelled her to her target.</p><p>“If you don’t, or if I see anything shady, she’ll- ugh!”</p><p>He was interrupted as the blonde threw herself at him and sent him flying with a well placed kick, stealing the weapon from the man’s belt with a smooth movement of her right hand.</p><p>The phone fell to the ground with loud clatter, but thankfully the call seemed to continue. Amanda screamed in surprise, though she remained rooted to her spot and made no move yet.</p><p>Juliet tore the duct tape from her mouth, and was quick to remove the charger from the gun, years of training and muscle memory making the work a lot easier despite the drug induced haze still clouding her mind. The blonde crouched quickly and made the phone slide on the ground to one of the cages to move it away from the two criminals in the hope it’d gain enough time for the cops to trace the call.</p><p>She then turned her attention back to Jonathan, who was getting up with an enraged snarl. He didn’t have the chance to do much more than that, as she was already flying back at him, hand positioned for a well aimed strike at the throat. She hit her target, and used the momentum to throw a punch with her other hand.</p><p>She felt a vicious satisfaction when she heard his nose crack loudly under her knuckles, and took advantage of his wheezing and roaring to knee him in the groin, making him fall over in pain.</p><p>There were loud, quick steps behind her and Juliet whirled around, seeing Amanda rush to her with a cry and a panicked expression. Apparently the cook had finally decided to react.</p><p>Any pity she could have felt for the woman until now promptly vanished, her survival instincts kicking in, and she used the chef’s own speed against her as she judo-flipped her. The move sent the woman flying and made her land on her back with a pained gasp.</p><p>But the drugs running through her body were still weakening her, and Juliet found herself panting and dizzy as she braced herself for Jonathan’s attack because that prick was already getting up.</p><p>She wasn’t fast enough to avoid the blow, and the way his punch caught her cheek made her see stars as she sprawled to the floor with a pained noise. He landed on her immediately, and suddenly there were hands around her throat and they were squeezing <em>and she couldn’t breathe-</em></p><p>“The phone!” Jonathan screamed furiously to the woman still lying on the floor, red-faced and half wheezing. “Turn the damn phone off!”</p><p>He inadvertently helped Juliet focus back, and with the little strength she had left, she managed to raise her arms and claw at his face. She used the produced distraction to flip him over, making his head hit the floor loudly.</p><p>Ignoring the way her lungs were burning with the lack of air, the blonde kept punching him with one arm while he was still groggy, so she could search the ground around with her other hand. she found the now unloaded gun, and gripped the weapon to whack it on the man’s temple with all the strength she could muster.</p><p>He went limp under her, and she couldn’t help but feel slightly relieved at the sight.</p><p>She tried to get up again but her knees buckled and she fell besides Jonathan, cursing how weak and heavy her legs were. But before she could even think to get up again, there was someone pushing her to the ground and preventing her from getting up. Juliet felt a hand holding her head down, and a prick to her neck. She groaned, more out of spite than pain, and promised herself that she wouldn’t be so nice to Amanda the next time she’d wake up. She was getting seriously irked at the fact that this damn woman had managed to take her by surprise twice.</p><p>Despite her violent dizziness, she managed to fight Sterling long enough to overthrow her, and threw an awkward punch. Luckily, it hit her target and Juliet almost felt like letting out a small whoop of victory.</p><p>Then, of course, it went dark again.</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Damnit, Amanda.</p><p>Don't hesitate to let me know your opinion about this chapter ! Next one will be up on Saturday, normally c:</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Wounds and Threats</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Magnum and Katsumoto get to work.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hello there ! As promised, here's the new chapter! My apologies for making you wait !<br/>I know I'm basically saying each time I post a new chapter, but thank you sooo much for your kind words and your kudos! You guys are the best :D<br/>Oh, and thanks again to CJ for pointing out that I was using "chief" instead of chef. I corrected it, hopefully I didn't miss any! Sorry for anyone I drove crazy with that mistake ^^'</p>
<p>Without any further ado, I hope you'll enjoy this chapter!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p>
<p>The first thing Katsumoto did when he saw Magnum enter the police station was to pull him aside, holding up a roll of gaze and clearly intending to dress his wound.</p>
<p>“Either I do it myself,” he warned, even though it sounded more like a threat, “or I send you to the hospital and make sure you spend the night there.”</p>
<p>“Can’t I just do it myself?” the private detective complained half-heartedly, holding up his injured hand to the officer anyway.</p>
<p>“No you can’t. You wouldn’t do it right and we don’t need the wound to get worse.”</p>
<p>And despite the situation, Thomas couldn’t help but feel a grin tug at the corner of his mouth.</p>
<p>“Awh, Gordy,” he teased. “I knew you cared.”</p>
<p>The glare he received in return was threatening enough to make him stay silent as the officer finished the dressing, until Katsumoto spoke again.</p>
<p>“Magnum. If you get a call, don’t try anything.” His tone left no room for arguments. “Don’t go play the hero. You come to us, and you try to stall the conversation while we trace the call. Got it?”</p>
<p>Thomas started at him for a short second, before nodding. “Yeah. Got it.”</p>
<p>And he did, really, because Katsumoto was probably the only officer he really trusted when Higgin’s life could be on the line.</p>
<p>“Good,” Gordon declared as he stowed the remaining gaze in one of the drawer under his desk. “Now that this is out of the way, let’s go ask the others what they were able to find on Sterling.”</p>
<p>“Why are you keeping bandages under your desk?” Thomas questioned curiously, still staring at the piece of furniture.</p>
<p>“You’re the detective. Figure it out,” Katsumoto grumbled succinctly.</p>
<p>“Let me guess, you bump your toe against the desk leg so often you decided to stay prepared?”</p>
<p>The other man scoffed. “No, it’s reserved for the idiots who get injured and still refuse to go to the hospital.”</p>
<p>“Now, don’t be so hard on yourself, Gordon.”</p>
<p>They arrived at the policewoman charged of finding out more about Sterling’s whereabouts, so the tanned detective was saved from Katsumoto’s ire; though his look clearly said he’d get back at the former SEAL later.</p>
<p>“Anything new?”</p>
<p>“I couldn’t find anything out of the ordinary for Sterling, so I’m looking into her family,” the woman promptly explained, eyes still stuck on the screen. “No siblings and the parents are deceased. Most of her remaining family is living in Florida, but she does have a cousin living in Honolulu, who had been incarcerated a few times for drug possession. Jonathan Beross.”</p>
<p>Thomas took his phone in hand and texted Rick, letting him know of the new name. His friend answered almost immediately, saying that he would dig into the Beross guy as well, but explaining that for the moment there had been nothing interesting about Sterling.</p>
<p>Which was a sentence he was beginning to hear a lot and he disliked it each time a little more.</p>
<p>The wait was long, he realized. For the moment, he wasn’t allowed to do anything but wait for updates, and he could almost physically feel the time ticking by. He was growing restless, and even though Katsumoto was surprisingly comprehensive, Thomas knew he was starting to exasperate the officer as he kept going around in circles. So he tried to be as helpful as he could, giving the officers as many information on the case as he could, allowing a policeman to take his phone for a few minutes so they’d be able to trace any call the private detective would get.</p>
<p>When he had then gotten the device back, he’d check it every few minutes for an update from Rick or T.C., and reassured Kumu, who had somehow gotten a hold of the situation, that<em> yes</em>, he was fine, and <em>no</em>, he wasn’t hurt anywhere except for a little scratch on his hand.</p>
<p>He almost jumped when his phone buzzed as the screen showed him T.C. was calling.</p>
<p>“Hey, T.C.” Thomas greeted, gaining Katsumoto’s attention. “What do you have?”</p>
<p>“So, Rick’s contact told us that Beross is a well known drug addict. Apparently he’s known around to have some shady business going on. Nobody’s sure what that business really is about, though. But, listen. These last few weeks, he wasn’t alone. He’s been spotted a few times with a woman; I’ll bet you twenty bucks that it’s your Sterling. The guy is also apparently often in contact with a dealer who runs between Hawaii and California, so we’re going to try and learn more about that dude.”</p>
<p>He heard Rick speak on the other end of the line.</p>
<p>“Yeah,” the pilot continued, agreeing with whatever Rick was saying. “You guys should look around the docks. If Beross’s trying to disappear, it’s probable he called his dealer buddy. It’s where they often reunite.”</p>
<p>“We’ll do that. Mahalu, guys.”</p>
<p>“Keep us updated too, brother.”</p>
<p>“Of course.”</p>
<p>He conveyed to Katsumoto what he had just learnt.</p>
<p>“We’ll send several policemen to patrol in the area and search it. And no,” the officer said firmly, catching Magnum’s look, “you’re not going. We need you to stay here in there, in case Sterling or her accomplice decide to call you for the supposed ransom.”</p>
<p>As much as Thomas wanted to argue to that, because he needed to do more than just sitting around in a cramped police station, he knew Katsumoto was right.</p>
<p>“Alright,” he conceded. “But if you get a lead or their location, I’ll be coming along.”</p>
<p>Gordon seemed to accept that. “It’s not like I could prevent you from coming anyway.” He paused, throwing Magnum a weird look, before adding: “I don’t know if you noticed, but your shirt is still covered in blood. I hope you didn’t get any in the Ferrari, or Higgins is going to feed your corpse to her dogs.”</p>
<p><em>Still</em> covered in blood? The private detective peered down to get a good look at himself.</p>
<p>
  <em>Oh.</em>
</p>
<p>Yes, wiping his hands on his hands and shirt probably hadn’t been his best idea, but in his defence he was a little bit too busy to care about appearances right now. Seriously, why would a small hand injury bleed so much? Still, Thomas took the hint and shrugged good-naturedly.</p>
<p>"I’m pretty sure they wouldn’t wait for me to become a corpse before eating me. Where’s the bathroom?”</p>
<p>“You’ve come here enough times to know where they are.”</p>
<p>“Right. I don’t assume you have some spare clothes?”</p>
<p>“If you think I’m ever going to entrust you with a police uniform, Magnum, you’re severely mistaken.”</p>
<p>“Can’t blame me for trying.”</p>
<p>“Go try to wash that damn blood off, you look like you just murdered someone.”</p>
<p>“Aye, aye.”</p>
<p>True to Katsumoto’s words, Magnum did in fact manage to find the bathroom by himself. He tried to wash himself as best as he could, trying to scrub the blood off his shirt and his arm the best he could and not minding the chill of the water.</p>
<p>His phone buzzed again, and Thomas almost accepted the call on instinct, ready to greet T.C. or Rick and maybe, just maybe, hear some good news.</p>
<p>Except it wasn’t his friends. He stared for half a second at the “Private Number” written on the screen before it clicked and he raced out the bathroom.</p>
<p>“Katsumoto!” he yelled, gaining the attention of every officer in the room.</p>
<p>He held up his phone in the air, heart beating wildly, and everyone understood. A heavy silence fell into the station and everyone got to their position. Thomas’s eyes remained fixated on Katsumoto’s and waited for him to nod before accepting the call.</p>
<p>“Thomas Magnum, private investigator,” he greeted, trying to sound casual. He wasn’t quite sure he had managed to. “What is it?”</p>
<p>He could hear muffled noises from the other end of the line but there was no answer and for a short, terrifying moment he thought it was actually not the good number.</p>
<p>“<em>Mister Magnum. I have your friend</em>,” a male voice finally spoke. “<em>And if you want her back and alive, you’re going to do exactly what I say.</em>”</p>
<p>It was the same voice he had heard earlier through Higgins’ call, Thomas realized, and he mouthed the words “This is them” to Gordon, who gestured at him to answer.</p>
<p>“What did you do with her?” he asked, letting some of his rage filter in his voice. “What do you want? If this is for money, I can try to-”</p>
<p>“I’m not stupid, I know you’re with the cops right now.” the other interrupted, unaffected. “Don’t play with me or you’ll regret it.”</p>
<p>“I never pretended I was alone,” he declared. “I want to know if Higgins is okay.”</p>
<p>“You don’t get to make demands, Magnum, I do.” This time, there was a shred of anger in his voice, and the private detective felt a pang of worry for Juliet. “But if you really want to know, then yes, for the moment she’s fine. And she will be as long as you do as I say.”</p>
<p>“And how do I know you’re not trying to trick me? Can you let me speak to her?” he tried, careful enough to turn it into a question in order not to set the man off again; who actually seemed to consider it.</p>
<p>“I’ll send you proof of it later. For the moment you’ll have to take my word for it. I want three millions deposited behind the Pohakea elementary school in two hours.”</p>
<p>Thomas threw a look at the officers, but they were obviously not done yet with tracing the call. His nervousness spiked up, and he tried to stall the conversation.</p>
<p><em>If you could call this a conversation</em>.</p>
<p>“Wait, wait, wait, three millions? In two hours? This is going to be-</p>
<p>But the other guy was clearly decided to end the call.</p>
<p>“If you don’t, or if I see anything shady, she’ll- ugh!”</p>
<p>Magnum froze at the interruption, and flinched at the loud noise coming from the other end of the line. It was like something had fallen loudly to the ground.</p>
<p>Realization dawned on him and he released the breath he didn’t realize he was holding. He almost laughed.</p>
<p>
  <em>Of course she’d contribute to her own rescue.</em>
</p>
<p>“<span>I think Higgins is fighting the guy on the other end of the line,” Thomas explained absent-mindedly to </span><span>the</span><span> confused officers, and he </span><span>felt his mouth twitch</span><span> as he saw Katsumoto’s face light up with understanding and </span><em>pride</em><span>. </span><span>It was probably mirroring his own face.</span><span> “She’s stalling.”</span></p>
<p>He could only hear muffled sounds now, but it wasn’t hard imagining her kicking her kidnapper’s ass.</p>
<p>“We’re almost there,” declared another officer in answer, voice tight with anxiety and concentration. “Just a few more...”</p>
<p>
  <span>There was a pained sound on he guessed to be Juliet’s side </span>
  <span>and Thomas’ blood went cold again</span>
  <span>. </span>
</p>
<p>“<span>We got them!” a policeman exclaimed. </span></p>
<p>Just a few moments later, the call disconnected, and the private stared at the screen in worry and dismay.</p>
<p>“Let’s go, Magnum!” Katsumoto shouted, and suddenly there was a bulletproof vest in his arms and he was being steered out of the police station.</p>
<p>
  <span>Thomas snapped out of whatever haze he had gotten lost into and thanked the officer as he put the vest on </span>
  <span>and followed him outside</span>
  <span>. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>They had a former spy and a cat to find.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <b>0-0-0</b>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>To his credit, when they arrived near the hangar on the other side of the island only to see a familiar brightly coloured car, and two even more familiar men, armed and looking ready to tear through a battlefield, Katsumoto barely batted an eye.</p>
<p>Even more impressively, he just held out two more bulletproof vests to them with nothing more but a sigh.</p>
<p>“You guys stay behind me,” he declared, and his tone left no place for objections. “EMTs are already on the way but I’d rather not have any more injuries.”</p>
<p>The three friends nodded easily, too serious to crack a joke. Thomas noticed a white car parked in front of the entrance, which meant that the criminals -and Higgins- would likely still be inside.</p>
<p>Which was a bit weird actually. He really hoped they weren’t going to fall in a trap of some kind or discover some… bad news. He refused to dwell on that and shook his head, like he was trying to expel the stray thought from his head.</p>
<p>
  <span>
    <span>The agents quickly encircled the warehouse and Katsumoto made a bee line for the door, gun ready. Rick, T.C. and Thomas followed behind him as he inspected the door. </span>
  </span>
  <span>
    <span>Surprisingly enough, i</span>
  </span>
  <span>
    <span>t was </span>
  </span>
  <span>
    <span>unlocked</span>
  </span>
  <span>
    <span>, the door was slightly opened. </span>
  </span>
</p>
<p>Gesturing to the other agents to stay alert, Gordon pushed it slowly more open with the end of his gun. As soon as the door creaked, he gave a more powerful shove, and the door opened entirely. They tiptoed inside. It took Thomas another second for his eyes to adjust to the obscurity, but he already had his own gun trained in the same direction as Katsumoto’s, muscles tense and ready to fight.</p>
<p>It seemed that it wouldn’t be necessary, though. The four men couldn’t help but freeze at the scene in front of them.</p>
<p>There were three people already inside, but the only conscious one hadn’t noticed them and was talking heatedly on a phone, their back turned to them.</p>
<p><em>Her back</em>, Magnum mentally corrected, guessing it was Amanda Sterling.</p>
<p>He spotted Juliet right after. She was attached to one of the poles, head dangling, and her right cheek looked like it had received a nasty blow. A spark of white-hot fury ignited in his chest as he saw the dark, ugly bruises around her neck.</p>
<p>However, a quick glance at the second unconscious person made a fast work of ensuring him she <em>clearly </em>had kicked her opponent’s ass. Even from their spot, standing immobile at the entrance, Thomas could spot the broken nose and black eyes on the man’s face. He looked completely knocked out and was lying on his back.</p>
<p>Katsumoto had kept his gaze on the woman, and as he confirmed she wasn’t holding a weapon, he yelled “Freeze!”</p>
<p>Sterling turned around with a surprised yelp, almost throwing her phone in the air in the process. She gaped at the newcomers, fear overtaking her expression and body tensing, and she glanced at a table, a few feet away from her. On which a weapon was lying.</p>
<p>“I wouldn’t do that, if I were you,” T.C. warned dangerously, tone low and deadly serious.</p>
<p>“Drop your phone, and get on your knees.” Katsumoto ordered sharply. “<em>Now</em>.”</p>
<p>After a long, <em>too long</em> moment of hesitation, the woman finally dropped to her knees, letting her phone fall with a loud clatter as her face relaxed into resignation. Gordon advanced to her, cuffs in hand but still ready to fight, would she try something stupid.</p>
<p>Thomas, after throwing a quick look at the unconscious guy to make sure he wasn’t going to suddenly wake up and jump at their throats, rushed to Higgins and lowered himself to her level. Rick and T.C. followed instantly, and the chopper pilot worked on the bundle of rope tying the majordomo’s arms, while the club owner went for the one attaching her legs together.</p>
<p>“Hey, Higgy,” the private detective said softly, one hand to her neck to feel for her pulse and the other gently holding her head as he tried to wake her up. “Juliet? It’s Magnum. We got you. You’re gonna be okay.”</p>
<p>The blonde was too out of it to answer, though she sighed and leaned slightly into Magnum’s touch. His brows creased into a frown, which deepened when he noticed the bruises in the crook of her arm.</p>
<p>“She’s been drugged,” he remarked to his two friends, as he kept mentally listing her injuries and tried to help Juliet come back to consciousness with soft words and nudges.</p>
<p>“Katsumoto!” Rick called out to the officer, who was ensuring the woman to two more policemen. “How long until the EMTs get here?”</p>
<p>“They should be here any minute,” Gordon answered. He threw a short glance at the other unconscious man, before looking back at Higgins. “How is she?”</p>
<p>“They’ve been drugging her, probably with the same kind sedatives we found back at Sterling’s house” Thomas started to explain, “and the bruises on her face and neck might come from the scuffle we heard earlier on the phone.” He glanced at her legs and felt gently for her ribs, relieved that he wasn’t finding anything worrying. “Doesn’t seem like she got any internal injuries.”</p>
<p>“But her left thumb is sticking out,” T.C. added, as he carefully brought her arms in front of her, and the hand Thomas had on the blonde’s neck immediately latched to her wrist, still feeling for her pulse but this time also rubbing gentle circles on her skin. “Dislocated.”</p>
<p>The three other men winced slightly at that.</p>
<p>“At least she isn’t in critical condition,” Katsumoto reasoned, although he was looking worriedly at Higgins. “She should be fine after spending a few days at the hospital.”</p>
<p>Rick smiled, trying to lighten the atmosphere. “Knowing Jules, she’ll be up in no time to show the doctors how to do their jobs properly.”</p>
<p>“That’s our Higgy for sure,” T.C. nodded, his hand patting Magnum’s arm comfortingly before settling on Juliet’s shoulder. “Come on, let’s take her outside. There’s no danger moving her around and the faster she gets out of there, the faster she’ll recover.”</p>
<p>Thomas nodded but didn’t move. There was this weird, strong need for him to keep his hands against her cheek and wrist, to feel her breathing and alive, to make sure that she’d be okay.</p>
<p>Letting go of her hand felt like letting her down, and he’d rather have to find another million cats than doing so. His friends weren’t oblivious to his internal turmoil, and exchanged a knowing glance.</p>
<p>“You got this, Tommy?” Rick asked, sensing his friend’s reluctance to back away from the former spy’s side.</p>
<p>He felt a weird relief at that. “Yeah. Katsumoto?”</p>
<p>“I’ll handle the pets,” the officer confirmed. He threw a look at the cages. “Those guys should go back to their owners as soon as possible. I’ll come by later and keep you updated when we find your mystery cat.”</p>
<p>Nodding, the dark-haired detective slid an arm under the majordomo’s knees and another one around her back, and got up as he held her tightly against him. With Rick and T.C. hovering anxiously next to him, they made it outside, and Thomas squinted slightly at the sudden and bright lights of the ambulances.</p>
<p>I wasn’t long before paramedics rushed to them and took Juliet away to the ambulance. The private investigator tried to follow them, only to be stopped gently by another female paramedic, who seemed to want to get a good look at his hand. He shooed her away as nicely as he could, stating he was fine and promising he’d get it looked at when he’d get to the hospital. The woman clearly doubted him, casting his hand another suspicious look, but was kind enough to accept and even reassured him, promising him his friend would be just fine.</p>
<p>Thomas tried to turn again to the paramedics taking care of Higgins and saw they were already departing.</p>
<p>It was like the sudden loss of contact made Magnum dizzy, and he blinked, suddenly unsure about what he would have to do first. A hand settled on his shoulder and he turned his head to face Rick, who was watching him with a knowing expression. The comforting touch helped him focus back, and he cleared his throat.</p>
<p>“I’ll follow the ambulance,” he declared. “You guys coming?”</p>
<p>“Yeah, no, you’re in no state to drive,” T.C. tutted as he asserted his friend’s appearance. “No offence, man, but you look like you’re going to crash into the first tree you see.”</p>
<p>Thomas scoffed, both amused and offended. It was hard not to play along with his friend’s obvious but heartening attempt at making him feel better. “Thank you, brother, for such a strong faith in my abilities. Have I ever crashed into a tree?”</p>
<p>“Do we really need to start counting the number of times you crashed that Ferrari? Do you want me to also start counting all the times you crashed any kind of vehicle?”</p>
<p>“Okay, I’ll give you that, I may have had a few accidents. But did I ever crash <em>into a tree</em>?”</p>
<p>“Alright, boys, that’s enough bickering,” Rick intervened with a soft laugh. “I’ll drive your car and take you to the hospital, T.M. We don’t want Higgy murdering you in your sleep because she has to cover the cost of reparations for the car.”</p>
<p>“Now you just want to drive my car. Also, that’s a pretty bold of you to assume she’d wait for me me to be asleep before finishing me off.”</p>
<p>T.C. chuckled. “That’s true. I’ll go pick Kumu up, then. I’ll join you two at the hospital as soon as possible.”</p>
<p>“Let’s go, then.” Rick said, motioning to the bright red car. “Don’t want to keep Jules waiting. Pass me the keys, Thomas. We really don’t need another accident now.”</p>
<p>He bristled at the playful jab.</p>
<p>“For the last time, the <em>only times</em> I crashed the Ferrari were when-”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hope you liked it! Next chapter should be up on Monday c:<br/>See you soon, gents o/</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Bandages and Slumber</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Magnum is letting a professionnal take care of his hand, Higgins is safe, and the two of them are finally going to be okay.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hey peeps! Like promised, here's the new chapter. We're getting so close to the end ! I can't believe how fast all of this went.<br/>Thank you for your kind words, your support and your love. You guys really make me want to work on more stories even if it's difficult with all the school work I have to go through! And the_eh_team, thank you so much for taking the time each time to leave a kind review!</p>
<p>I hope you'll all enjoy this chapter!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It honestly felt like Rick was taking his sweet time to get to the hospital, which Thomas knew was an absurd thought, since his friend was driving at a speed that would probably give Katsumoto a heart attack.</p>
<p>He knew he was just still miffed at not being the one to drive, but <em>come on</em>, weren’t his friends supposed to support him if he said he was able to drive?</p>
<p>“That’s not support if that means we’re sending you straight to the urgencies, Tommy,” Rick argued when the dark haired investigator had voiced his thoughts.</p>
<p>Despite that, it wasn’t long before the bright red Ferrari finally parked near the hospital, and the two men hurried to the reception, asking for their friend.</p>
<p>“Juliet Higgins?” the receptionist parroted, failing to be subtle as she eyed Thomas’ bloody and bandaged hand with a disapproving glare. She glanced back at the screen, reading Higgins’ file. “Yes, she was brought into a room about ten minutes ago. She’s suffering from a few minor injuries, but she should recover very fast. The doctors expect her to wake up in a few hours. Should I call someone for your hand, sir?”</p>
<p>“I’ll be fine, thank you.” Thomas refused politely. “Can we visit her?”</p>
<p>Not that the answer really mattered because he’d go see her anyway, but at least he if had their authorization he wouldn’t get in trouble later.</p>
<p>“Sure. Visiting hours end at 8 pm, so you have over two hours left. She’s in room 203, please remember to stay calm and respectful.”</p>
<p>Rick nodded “Thanks, Miss.” He turned to Magnum, adding: “You know, you should really see a doctor, while we’re here. People are staring at your hand.”</p>
<p>“Higgins first,” Thomas added, trying not to sound impatient.</p>
<p>His friend raised an eyebrow. “Alright,” he amended. “But as soon as T.C. and Kumu get here, you’re gonna have this patched up. Those bandages look like they’re close to be shredded into pieces.”</p>
<p>“Gotcha. I think you’re insulting Gordon’s medical skills, though.”</p>
<p>“Are you saying <em>Katsumoto-</em> you know what, nevermind. Somehow I’m actually not that surprised.”</p>
<p>They finally reached Juliet’s room. It smelled strongly of disinfectant and other chemicals, and Thomas held his breath when he saw her.</p>
<p>
  <span>
    <span>The logical part of his mind knew that she wasn’t badly injured, that she’</span>
  </span>
  <span>
    <span>d</span>
  </span>
  <span>
    <span> recover fast and be as healthy as ever in no time. The </span>
  </span>
  <em>
    <span>less</span>
  </em>
  <span>
    <span> logical part of his mind, taking in the strong smells and the sight of her unmoving body, violently reminded him of why he disliked hospitals so much. </span>
  </span>
</p>
<p>Still, he remained calm as he dragged a chair to her bedside, straining to hear her breathing. At least she didn’t sound like she was in pain.</p>
<p>“I swear,” Rick huffed from the other side of the bed, also having taken place in a chair, “You two are going to give me so much grey hair.”</p>
<p>“Like you never got in trouble yourself.”</p>
<p>They argued softly, although Thomas half hoped it’d be enough to wake up Higgins. She unfortunately remained asleep, oblivious to their friendly and teasing banter. He felt a pang of guilt, worry and longing at that.</p>
<p>
  <em>Please wake up soon, Higgy.</em>
</p>
<p>T.C. and Kumu arrived half an hour later, the latter embracing Magnum in a tight hug and chiding him for not taking care of himself. He smiled at them, knowing Juliet would be happy to see their ohana reunited, even if it’d be in a small hospital room.</p>
<p>“Remember our deal, Thomas,” the chopper pilot reminded him, not unkindly, as he looked pointedly at his wrapped hand.</p>
<p>The private detective chuckled. “Yes, yes, mother-hen.”</p>
<p>He reluctantly got up from his chair, and promised the three of them he was going to find someone to look at his hand. Kumu moved to accompany him, apparently deciding that he couldn’t be trusted on his own.</p>
<p>Which was <em>insulting</em>, really.</p>
<p>Together, they managed to find a nurse that wasn’t too busy. The woman, Sally, who tended to his injury with a soft voice and even softer gestures, only frowned when he sheepishly admitted how he’d gotten the injury in the first place. Kumu tutted disapprovingly and mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like “idiot”. He threw her an exaggeratedly offended look in answer.</p>
<p>Sally rewrapped his hand neatly after disinfecting it, and explained what kind of ointments he’d have to use later to make sure it would heal quickly and neatly. Thomas nodded obediently, even though he was sure that the cultural curator would be watching over him like a hawk for the next few days to make sure he’d follow the nurse’s instructions.</p>
<p>“Thank you, Sally,” he hummed gratefully, gazing at his new bandages.</p>
<p>“Be careful, next time you want to break into someone’s home,” the woman joked.</p>
<p>The former SEAL grinned. “I’ll remember that.”</p>
<p>“Please, don’t give him ideas,” Kumu sighed, patting his shoulder. “He already gets into enough trouble the way he is.”</p>
<p>“Hey, give me some credit. At least I stop bad people, don’t I?”</p>
<p>“Huhuh, and how often do you get injured in the process?”</p>
<p>She didn’t mention Higgins, and whether it was intentional or not Thomas was grateful for this. He shook his head in a gesture that he hoped conveyed amusement, but he was starting to grow uneasy. He just wanted to go back to Higgins’s room already.</p>
<p>Kumu, bless her soul, seemed to sense his impatience.</p>
<p>“Let’s go back,” she offered, and turned to the nurse a last time. “Thank you again, Sally.”</p>
<p>She smiled kindly. “You’re very welcome. Remember, Mr Magnum, change the bandages at least once a day.”</p>
<p>“Will do. Have a nice day.”</p>
<p>They were back in a record time, even though Kumu had to remind him several times that <em>she wasn’t as fast as she used to be in her youth.</em></p>
<p>“Beautiful, smart and athletic? You must have been a real heart-breaker, Kumu” he had joked lightly, smiling warmly at her pleased laugh.</p>
<p>Rick and T.C. had apparently gotten two additional chairs during the time where they gone, so they all had a place to sit. His two friends looked ridiculously pleased at the sight of his freshly wrapped hand, which made him scowl slightly.</p>
<p>He reclaimed his place by Higgins’ bed, scrutinizing her face as he looked for any sign that she’d wake up soon.</p>
<p>“She shifted in her sleep, earlier,” T.C. offered.</p>
<p>Thomas nodded, relieved. “That’s good.”</p>
<p>They chatted quietly, exchanging with Kumu stories of dumb accidents they had gotten into as kids and that had landed them in the hospital. Magnum was particularly delighted when he listened to Rick explain how he’d gotten stuck in a wheelchair for a month, after jumping straight from the roof of a supermarket for <em>fun</em>. Time slowly ticked by, and an hour passed.</p>
<p>Then two.</p>
<p>Higgins was still not showing any signs of waking up, apart from the occasional shifting, which would get their hopes up each time before they’d deflate when seeing she wouldn’t move any more than that. Thomas was starting to feel worry creeping back up his spine. He knew he wasn’t the only one, as he’d catch his friends often throwing expectant look at the unconscious blonde, waiting for her to open her eyes.</p>
<p>A nurse came by, informing them that visiting hours were over and that they’d have to leave. It took a lot of pleading and promises that they wouldn’t disturb the patient before she started to hesitate. The private detective added that she’d need to see a familiar face upon waking up and explained why, and it seemed to be enough to make the woman accept, albeit reluctantly, to let them stay.</p>
<p>“You can’t all stay there, though,” she argued firmly. “I can accept one exception, not four.”</p>
<p><span><span>They knew not to push their luck, and accepted the conditions readily </span></span><span><span>while</span></span><span><span> thanking her softly. </span></span><span><span>Her expression softened as she saw the raw relief and gratitude on their faces, and she promised she would explain the situation to her colleagues</span></span><span><span>. </span></span><span><span>The group barely had to exchange a look to pick who’d get to stay; his three friends clearly knew that Thomas would be too stubborn to leave and that he would hide in a closet for the whole night if he had to. Rick, T.C. and Kumu were gentle and hopeful as they bid Magnum and the sleeping Higgins goodbye, counting on the private detective to give them an update </span></span><span><span>when</span></span><span><span> she’</span></span><span><span>d</span></span> <span><span>wake</span></span><span><span> up. </span></span></p>
<p>It took another hour and a half before Juliet’s fingers started to twitch. Thomas had been lucky enough to be glancing at her at that moment, and he snapped his head in her direction at the movement.</p>
<p>He waited for a few seconds, not wanting to get his hopes up again. If it was like earlier, then a long time could still pass before she’d-</p>
<p>
  <em>Another twitch.</em>
</p>
<p>This time Thomas felt his breath hitch, and murmured a soft “Higgy?” as he leaned in towards her and took her hand in his to give a gentle squeeze.</p>
<p>“Higgins?” he repeated, hope flaring in his chest. “Can you hear me?”</p>
<p>She didn’t answer, obviously, but seemed to react to his voice anyway. Her eyelids fluttered although they remained close, and this time when he squeezed her hand, her fingers curled a little more closely against his in answer. He breathed a laugh.</p>
<p>“That’s it, girl. You’re doing great.”</p>
<p>
  <span>
    <span>He</span>
  </span>
  <span>
    <span> kept murmuring encouragements and revelled in the way her reactions kept growing more noticeable and more frequent. </span>
  </span>
</p>
<p>And finally, finally-</p>
<p>Thomas called her name, eyelids fluttered, and he found two brown eyes peering at him sleepily.</p>
<p>“Hey, Higgy,” he greeted giddily but softly, a wave of intense relief crashing into him. “You sure took your sweet time to wake up.”</p>
<p>
  <span>
    <span>She blinked at him, apparently still too out of it to really </span>
  </span>
  <span>
    <span>understand</span>
  </span>
  <span>
    <span> what he had said. </span>
  </span>
  <span>
    <span>For a short moment, there was a terrifying lack of recognition in her eyes, but thankfully </span>
  </span>
  <span>
    <span>it was gone before he could fully process it.</span>
  </span>
</p>
<p>“M’num?” she croaked out.</p>
<p>“Yeah, that’s me,” he confirmed, feeling waves of pure relief washing over him.</p>
<p>Knowing she’d be thirsty, he gave her hand a last gentle squeeze before getting up to get a glass of water. When he turned back to her, she was staring at her hand with confused look. He pressed the button to call for a doctor and sat on the edge of her bed to help her drink.</p>
<p>“You’re in the hospital right now,” he explained as he made sure she wasn’t drinking too fast. “You got drugged by the woman you were interrogating, but everything’s fine now. Don’t worry, okay? Everyone’s alright, and the culprits were arrested.”</p>
<p>“Huh,” was all she managed to get out, but it was still an improvement. At least she seemed to have understood him this time.</p>
<p>A doctor entered the room, at first worried but lightening up when he saw Higgins was awake. Clearly the nurse from earlier had kept her promise, because the man didn’t seem the slightest surprised at Magnum’s presence. He even shooed the former SEAL outside, under Higgins’s amused gaze, telling him that he needed to examine her and that it’d only take a few minutes and that <em>no, he couldn’t stay</em>.</p>
<p>He begrudgingly accepted, stepping out of the room and taking advantage of the few minutes he had to update Kumu, Rick, T.C. as well as Katsumoto, who all answered with similar degrees of relief and excitement (except for Katsumoto, of course; the man probably didn’t even know what a smiley was).</p>
<p>True to the doctor’s words, he was allowed back in soon enough, and was pleased to notice that Juliet was still awake although she was obviously tired.</p>
<p>“How are you feeling?” he asked as soon as he was seated.</p>
<p>“Peachy,” she hummed back with a raised eyebrow, sighing softly as she sat up.</p>
<p>He felt ridiculously happy at the snark. A sarcastic Higgy was a (relatively) healthy Higgy.</p>
<p>“I’m sure you are,” he quipped back with a smile, “considering the nap you just had.”</p>
<p>She groaned. “What time is it?”</p>
<p>He checked his phone. “Around 11 pm. You arrived about five hours ago.”</p>
<p>“I feel like I’ve been here sleeping for days,” she admitted with a wince.</p>
<p>“Yeah,” Thomas confirmed with a sympathetic expression, “that’s no surprise. They didn’t exactly have a light touch with the sedatives they used on you. You actually woke up pretty early, from what I heard from the doctors.”</p>
<p>She frowned at his explanations, tilting her head slightly. “Sterling and the other man- Jonathan? They got arrested, right?”</p>
<p>“They’re in custody, yes. We don’t have to worry about them any more.”</p>
<p>“That woman took me by surprise,” she admitted, clearly annoyed. “Twice. I was an idiot.”</p>
<p>“No, you weren’t,” he argued back, and she looked at him questioningly at the vehemence in his voice. He paused, before speaking again, more softly this time. “You didn’t go there with strong suspicions about that woman, Higgins. Yes, she was one of our last leads, but we had heard nothing about her that made her suspicious. If we had decided that I’d go to see her instead of you, I’d probably had fallen in the same trap. You couldn’t have predicted this outcome.”</p>
<p>Her eyes lightened up in understanding, and she frowned at him, sitting up straighter as she scrutinized him.</p>
<p>“Magnum,” she started, half questioning and half chiding, “don’t tell me you’re feeling guilty because you weren’t there?”</p>
<p>“I’m not,” he denied, ignoring the little voice in his head that called him a liar. “But we could have avoided this if we had decided to go there together.”</p>
<p>Unsurprisingly, she didn’t buy it. “Magnum, we both decided that we needed to interrogate Clark’s son and Sterling, because we didn’t have enough time. As you said, I couldn’t have predicted that this would happen, but neither could you. Stop blaming yourself for this.”</p>
<p>“I am not,” he tried again, and couldn’t help but chuckle fondly when she rolled her eyes.</p>
<p>“Right.”</p>
<p>She was still looking suspiciously at him, so he decided to change the subject.</p>
<p>“By the way, how did you manage to fight them, during the phone call? You must have pulled a nice trick to surprise them like this.”</p>
<p>“Should I feel insulted?” she asked back. “You seem surprised that I could take them on.”</p>
<p>He laughed. “Please, as if I’d make that mistake. But seriously, weren’t your arms and legs tied up? What kind of cool spy trick did you use?”</p>
<p>Juliet blinked, tilting her head slightly like she was unconsciously mirroring Thomas’s expression.</p>
<p>“Legs?” she parroted, confused. “No, when I woke up my legs weren’t attached. I only had zip ties around my hands. That made it a lot easier to get out and take them by surprise, to be honest.”</p>
<p>“Huh.”</p>
<p>That cleared up how she’d managed to tackle the other guy during the phone call. He winced slightly at the memory of her dislocated thumb and glanced at the cast encasing her hand. Then he grinned, and snickered. “Good thing they underestimated you. You should have seen the other guy’s face when we arrived. You absolutely destroyed him.”</p>
<p>The blonde hummed, trying -and failing- not to look too satisfied at his words.</p>
<p>“Please tell me I managed to break that prick’s nose.”</p>
<p>“Oh, yeah, definitely.”</p>
<p>“<em>Excellent.</em>”</p>
<p>There was a knock on the door and Katsumoto entered, looking like he was having a hard time keeping a straight face.</p>
<p>“I’m not sure you really should be gloating at breaking someone’s nose,” he started, trying to sound serious and barely managing to, “but I’ll have to admit it was a nice hit.”</p>
<p>She couldn’t help but grin in an expression that once again mirrored Magnum’s. “Then I suppose it’d be extremely inappropriate of me to thank you for the compliment, officer.”</p>
<p>“Nice of you to come by, Gordon” Thomas said. “It’s pretty late, though.”</p>
<p>“I just got out of the station. Finally managed to get all the animals that were here back to their owners; there were about thirty of them in the warehouse. We found your cat, by the way.”</p>
<p>Both associates sighed in relief at that. Katsumoto glanced at Thomas’s hand, and gave a slight, satisfied smile.</p>
<p>“Glad to see your friends finally managed to get your stubborn ass get checked by a doctor.”</p>
<p>The private detective scowled. “I resent that, Katsumoto.”</p>
<p>“You’ll live.”</p>
<p>The exchange made Higgins perk up, and she looked at Thomas in confusion, eyes landing on his bandaged hand.</p>
<p>“Oh, I didn’t notice that,” she frowned, more at herself than at Magnum. What happened to your hand?”</p>
<p>He grinned.</p>
<p>“I fought valiantly.” An eyebrow raised in a dubious -and very Higgiesque- expression. “Are you seriously doubting me? You break my heart, Higgy.”</p>
<p>“Oh, he fought for sure,” Katsumoto supplied helpfully, the shadow of a grin forming in the corners of his mouth. “With a window. The window won, by the way.”</p>
<p>The former SEAL made an indignant sound and Juliet smiled at that, before stifling a yawn. Both men noticed that, and exchanged a look.</p>
<p>“Alright, I’ll let you rest,” Katsumoto declared, and promptly ignored Higgins’s protests. “I’ll come back tomorrow morning, when visiting hours start. I suppose you’re going to stay anyway, Magnum?”</p>
<p>“Of course.”</p>
<p>“Magnum,” she argued, “I can take care of myself and there are more than enough nurses and doctors here should I ever need someone’s help tonight. Go back to Robin’s Nest.”</p>
<p>“Yep, you’re right.”</p>
<p>He made no move to get up, though, and only waved at the exasperated officer who sighed in resignation at the pair’s antics as he exited the room.</p>
<p>“Magnum,” she tried again.</p>
<p>“I’m staying here,” he said cheerfully.</p>
<p>“You’re impossible.”</p>
<p>Still, she seemed to understand that he wouldn’t budge, and glared at him with a reluctant expression, though it was softened by the tiredness in her eyes.</p>
<p>“Just don’t make too much noise,” she added before settling back in her bed, watching him as he sat back and brought his chair closer to the hospital bed.</p>
<p>“I won’t,” he promised. “Get some rest, Higgy. You need it.”</p>
<p>“You too,” she hummed, too tired to argue more than that, and closed her eyes. “Try to sleep too.”</p>
<p>He smiled, and listened her breath slow down as she fell asleep in a record time. This time, there wasn’t any worry lingering and eating him from the inside, and he sighed in contentment at the knowledge that she was safe, <em>that she was okay</em>. They still had some things to talk about (he had promised her, after all), but for the moment, they were going to be okay, and that was the only thing that mattered.</p>
<p>He tried to get as comfortable as he could in the small chair he was sitting in, and soon felt sleep pull at his consciousness too, exhaustion finally settling in now that everything was resolved. He fell asleep barely a few minutes later, lulled to sleep by his partner’s soft breathing.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>The "jumping from a roof for funsies and ending up in a wheelchair” part? That’s what one of my classmates did, when I was in high school. Yeah, he was a sweet guy but definitely not the brightest cookie in the jar. </p>
<p>Anyway, I hope you guys liked it ! Don't hesitate to tell me what you thought of this chapter c:<br/>Next (and last D:) chapter coming up on Wednesday !</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Tales and Beers</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>They all get back home.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I can't believe this story is already coming to an end. It all went so fast! You guys really were amazing and seeing your kind comments and kudos cheered me up so much. I really can't thank you enough :)<br/>I hope you'll like this last chapter!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When Juliet woke up again, she felt like her brain had finally managed to get rid of the drug-induced haze that had fogged her thoughts. Although she still felt tired, which was getting ridiculous considering the amount of time she had spent sleeping, she was glad to feel refreshed. She opened her eyes and the first thing she noticed was the light filtering from behind the blinds. Blinking the last remnants of her sleep away, she suddenly remembered there had been someone else in the room before she’d fallen asleep.</p>
<p>She turned her head to watch Magnum, and winced silently at the way he was hunched over himself. The poor man was probably going to have a stiff neck, and she felt bad that he’d felt the need to spend the night here because of her.</p>
<p>The blonde tried to sit up without making noise in the hope to let him sleep a little longer, which failed miserably since the dark-haired man startled awake as soon as he heard her shifting. He glanced over her worryingly, before quickly calming down when he seemed to register she was okay.</p>
<p>“Good Morning, Sleeping Beauty,” she joked as he stretched with a groan, massaging his neck like she’d guessed he would.</p>
<p>“You’re the one to talk, you slept like a rock through the whole night,” he mumbled sleepily, though his words were accompanied with a smile. “How are you feeling?”</p>
<p>“Better,” she admitted genuinely, and he seemed relieved at that. “I don’t feel like my brain is filled with jelly any more.”</p>
<p>“Interesting way of phrasing,” Magnum laughed, as he went to get her a glass of water. She accepted it gratefully, and sipped slowly as he check the time on his phone.</p>
<p>“It’s a little past seven. Everyone’s probably to get here soon. Do you want to freshen up?”</p>
<p>“I’d like that, please.”</p>
<p>He helped her get up, and only let her go once he made sure she was able to stand on her own without stumbling. He hovered near her as she made her way to the small bathroom of the hospital room, but wasn’t invasive and that was something Juliet appreciated greatly.</p>
<p>He waited for her outside the room, and was typing on his phone when she came out.</p>
<p>“They should be here in around thirty minutes,” he informed her as he glanced up. “Need help for the bed?”</p>
<p>“No, I’ll manage,” she turned the offer down, before adding: “Thank you, though.”</p>
<p>He shrugged good-naturedly, before perking up.</p>
<p>“Oh!” he exclaimed, as if suddenly remembering something. “I got good news for you; Clark got her cat back, and we got paid! Quite generously, too.”</p>
<p>He waved his phone at her, grinning and looking pretty satisfied.</p>
<p>“Excellent,” Juliet drawled. “You’re finally going to be able to pay T.C. and Rick back for all the favours they did for you. And you can reimburse me for the last three times I had to pay for the Ferrari’s fuel.”</p>
<p>Magnum scowled and she fought back her own grin at the face he pulled.</p>
<p>“Now that I think about it,” she added pensively, “you did promise you’d tell me what happened between that Clark woman and you. Is it the good time, now?”</p>
<p>He sobered up, scratching his neck embarrassingly. “I guess so.”</p>
<p>The blonde hummed and settled back in her bed, waiting for him to start since she didn’t feel the need to push him. He hesitated, but started with: “Just so you know, it really was nothing important.”</p>
<p>He caught her dubious expression and chuckled. “I know, I know. Just let me explain.”</p>
<p>And she did.</p>
<p>“You noticed she was a little weird when we met her,” Magnum said, and Juliet nodded in agreement. “When you left to look around, it got even weirder.”</p>
<p>He paused, and she noticed how uncomfortable he looked.</p>
<p>“She was flirting with you, wasn’t she?” she guessed, and he winced but nodded in agreement.</p>
<p>It wasn’t that much of a surprise, considering the woman’s attitude with him. Magnum wasn’t <em>exactly</em> a bad looking man, and it wasn’t the first time they had clients, even when those were way older, trying to get along with either of them (once it had been with both of them at the same time, which had truly been disturbing). The surprise, though, was that the dark haired man seemed to really have reacted badly to her.</p>
<p>“But why were you so uncomfortable, then?” she asked, not unkindly. “Was she being that inappropriate while you two were alone?”</p>
<p>He shook his head. “Not really. She was a bit, uh, <em>touchy</em>, but she quickly stopped once I asked her to,” he explained. “Though she reacted badly to that and kind of went off.”</p>
<p>The majordomo raised an eyebrow.</p>
<p>“Oh my. You told me in the car that you snapped back at her. What did she say?”</p>
<p>He hesitated, longer this time, and she felt herself frown.</p>
<p>“Magnum?” she prodded.</p>
<p>He sighed. “I’d rather not repeat that word to word. She was clearly hurt that I wasn’t answering positively to her advances and saying that I deserved better, but then started badmouthing you, even though you had nothing to do with this. So, I don’t know, I snapped.”</p>
<p>She blinked, unsure of how to respond to this, and Magnum seemed to mistake her silence as annoyance or even anger, because he got nervous.</p>
<p>“I know you’ve told me repeatedly that we’ve got to be careful with our reputation and the people who hire us, because that’s pretty much the only way for us to get clients, but seriously you should have heard how she was talking, and I don’t know, but I just-”</p>
<p>“Magnum,” the blonde interrupted softly and he snapped his mouth shut, which almost made her smile. “I’m not mad. I’m just-”</p>
<p>She paused, fumbling for words. “I just didn’t expect that. So… when you told me you had snapped at her. It was because of this?”</p>
<p>A nod.</p>
<p>She had literally no idea how to react to this. When Magnum had explained he’d gotten mad at their client, she’d figured it would be something related to the case, or to Magnum himself. But no; it had been because of her? <em>For </em>her?</p>
<p>“Okay,” she said softly. Now was <em>not</em> the time to unpack all of this.</p>
<p>He seemed relieved at that, and the tension in his shoulders eased. He clearly had expected her to get at least annoyed with him, and she felt a little guilty that he’d thought she would react this way. So she smiled, a little hesitantly. “I guess I have to thank you for defending me, then. Too bad I wasn’t here to see it.”</p>
<p>The former SEAL laughed softly, and he relaxed a bit more.</p>
<p>“I wish you had been there,” he said, which made her tilt her head in a silent question. “You would have obliterated her.”</p>
<p>She smirked, amused, and maybe just a little bit flattered. “Of course I would have. On the bright side, though, since I wasn’t here to do so, we still managed to get paid.”</p>
<p>“True,” he answered, mirth dancing in his eyes. “I think you would have gotten us fired.”</p>
<p>“You’d never let me live it down if I ever did something like this.”</p>
<p>She paused, soaking in the comfortable atmosphere for a few moments before trying to get back to a more serious subject. Thomas, noticing her slight shifting in attitude, tilted his head.</p>
<p>“Magnum, I know I told you multiple times to be careful with the way we treated our clients,” she started tentatively. “But I didn’t mean to tell you to let them walk all over you. You’re allowed to defend yourself when they’re being prats. I’m sorry if I ever said the contrary. I never meant that.”</p>
<p>His gaze softened, and he shook his head slightly, smiling. “Of course I know that, Higgy.”</p>
<p>“Except that it was the reason you were acting so weird back then, wasn’t it?” she insisted. “You felt bad because you thought I’d get mad.”</p>
<p>She knew it was maybe a little ridiculous, to be thinking this way; but she didn’t like the idea of making him worry, and she liked the idea of him worrying because of a miscommunication even less. If they wanted to be partner and if they wanted it to work, she had more efforts to make in terms of communication, and there was no way she’d allow something like that to happen again, and Juliet wanted him to know that.</p>
<p>But Magnum’s eyes were impossibly soft and the way he was looking at her made her realize that he had probably already understood what she was thinking. He opened his mouth to speak-</p>
<p>And there was a knock on the door.</p>
<p>Juliet blinked, surprised. And she was definitely not disappointed, <em>no no</em>.</p>
<p>Thankfully, those weird feeling were fast to vanish as she took in the smiling and relieved faces of their friends entering the room. Kumu and T.C. were holding beautiful bouquets, and Rick…</p>
<p>Rick was carrying the biggest teddy bear she had ever seen. She almost choked on a laugh at the sight, and heard Magnum laugh.</p>
<p>“Good morning, gents,” she greeted in delight, leaning into their hugs and revelling in their warm expressions as she accepted the gifts. She was smiling so widely her cheeks were starting to hurt. “Where did you even get this, boys? This is the most incredible stuffed animal I’ve ever seen.”</p>
<p>“Only the best for you, Higgy-Baby,” T.C. hummed proudly, exchanging a satisfied look with Rick and a wink with Magnum.</p>
<p>“Sadly, we can’t tell you,” Rick added in faked seriousness. “It’s from our giant teddy bear stash, you see.”</p>
<p>“Huh.”</p>
<p>Juliet heard Magnum make a thoughtful noise, though the bear that was in her arms was so ridiculously big she couldn’t even see him any more.</p>
<p>“Your hell hounds are going to have a blast shredding this monstrosity to tears,” he remarked.</p>
<p>“Unlike you, Magnum, the lads are perfectly able to behave, even when confronted to a teddy bear that’s bigger than them.”</p>
<p>She didn’t have to see him to imagine the way he was glowering at her, and she didn’t bother hiding her smirk.</p>
<p>“We’re glad to see you’re feeling alright, Juliet,” Kumu declared gently, but her voice held a playful tone as she glanced between the blonde and dark-haired duo.</p>
<p>The majordomo smiled fondly at the other woman. “Thank you, Kumu.”</p>
<p>She then glanced around, and squinted at the cast on her arm.</p>
<p>“So,” she started, gaining everyone’s attention. “When do you think I can get discharged?”</p>
<p>A mix of groaning and laughter resonated in the room.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <b>0-0-0</b>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Unsurprisingly, Juliet managed to get discharged in a record time, insisting to the doctors that she was fine and that she wouldn’t do any strenuous activity for the next few days. Magnum remarked that T.C. and Rick had been right when they had guessed her to be an awful patient, and that he was sure they were discharging her only so they wouldn’t have a blonde fury disturbing them every few seconds with her remarks.</p>
<p>The former spy glared at him, but didn’t correct him.</p>
<p>“You know that you being discharged so soon means no yoga for like, a week or two?” Thomas asked playfully.</p>
<p>She feigned disappointment. “Sadly, you’re right. It also means I can’t get to the dogs quickly if they start chasing after you again.”</p>
<p>“Please tell me you wouldn’t let them eat me.”</p>
<p>Not a heartbeat later, Juliet answered truthfully. “Of course not. You’d make them sick.”</p>
<p>T.C. and Rick snickered, the latter patting her shoulder in an appreciative gesture.</p>
<p>Magnum scowled at them “Traitors.” He turned to Kumu, probably looking for support, only to see her laughing too.</p>
<p>“Kumu!” he exclaimed. “Come on, not you too!”</p>
<p>“I’m sorry, Thomas.” She didn’t sound the least apologetic. “But Juliet’s right.”</p>
<p>The drive back home was peaceful, with Juliet and Magnum in the red (and miraculously undamaged) Ferrari while Kumu, Rick and T.C. followed them in the chopper pilot’s car. She almost dozed off during the ride, only barely managing to stay awake despite the lull of the motor and the warm wind blowing on their face. If the dark-haired detective ever noticed her drowsiness, he didn’t comment on it.</p>
<p>They were back to the estate soon enough, and the first thing the blonde did was to go greet Zeus and Apollo. They were clearly excited to see her and yet remained gentle as they nudged her to ask to be pet. She closed her eyes for a few seconds, happy to be home.</p>
<p>“Kumu took care of them, don’t worry,” Magnum said somewhere behind her. The lads didn’t pay him any mind.</p>
<p>“She’s an angel,” Juliet declared. “Still, I’m glad I wasn’t gone for too long. I missed my boys.”</p>
<p>She half expected him to complain about the dogs, but to her surprise he simply chuckled and went past her -and the dogs– with a soft look at the bundles of fur and paws showering the blonde with affection.</p>
<p>“Looks like they missed you too. Do you want a beer, or do you need to avoid alcohol for a few days?”</p>
<p>“No, I can drink. I’d like one, please.”</p>
<p>“Sure. Let’s go to the guest house then.” Magnum waved at their friends, gesturing at them to follow him, and he surprised her again when he even encouraged her to take the lads with them.</p>
<p>“I’m sure we can manage a truce for a few hours,” he justified himself with an amused shrug when he noticed her curious look.</p>
<p>The five friends settled in the main room of the guest house, chatting happily.</p>
<p>“I think we all agree on the fact that you two shouldn’t accept any missing pet case for a while,” T.C. joked, earning snorts and agreements from around the room.</p>
<p>“Yeah,” Rick chirped in. “How you guys manage to get involved in some shady business each time you look for a pet is a real mystery.”</p>
<p>Juliet perked up at the last word, remembering something she’d been meaning to ask.</p>
<p>“Talking about mysteries,” she started, turning to Magnum beside her, “how do you figure out the password on my laptop every damn time? You can’t tell me you tried until you got the right one, because I’m really not going to believe you.”</p>
<p>Magnum’s eyes crinkled as he smiled, expression so cheeky yet so soft that it made her want to throw the cushion next to her at him.</p>
<p>“I know I may not look like it, but I’m a really good private investigator.”</p>
<p>“That’s what exactly what you said when I’d ask you about how you had known for my previous career as an MI6 agent,” Juliet huffed, “before you revealed that Robin had told you. Somehow I doubt that you have him magically figuring out my passwords and whispering them to you.”</p>
<p>Rick and T.C. were watching the exchange with amused interest. The tanned man’s smile only grew bigger, and she couldn’t help but taunt him.</p>
<p>“Having people tell you the answer really makes you a great detective, huh?”</p>
<p>“If I remember correctly,” Magnum intervened with a chuckle, taking the bait good-naturedly, “right after that revelation, I managed to tell you what was on your tray and even how it was placed. I do have great skills, you’re just too stubborn to admit it.”</p>
<p>“Modesty is certainly one of your biggest traits”, she chuckled, shaking her head in mock disdain.</p>
<p>He laughed again, but didn’t seem to want to say anything more than that. She waited for a few seconds, before trying again.</p>
<p>“Thomas.”</p>
<p>He perked up at the use of his first name, tilting his head curiously in her direction.</p>
<p>“If you don’t tell me how you manage to find out my laptop’s password,” she enunciated slowly and clearly, “I’ll have the lads wake you up. Every. Morning. They won’t have eaten yet and trust me, they can be quite convincing when they’re hungry.”</p>
<p>Juliet paused to let the words sink in, and added: “And you’ll have to remember that I can’t do any physical activity for the next few days, which means you’ll be on your own.”</p>
<p>Kumu chuckled, probably already imagining the scene. “Oh, that’d certainly be an interesting sight.”</p>
<p>As empty as the threat was, because the dogs loved Magnum too much to hurt him, they’d certainly have a fit waking him up and being able to run after him so soon in the morning. Though she wasn’t so sure the former SEAL would love it as much as them.</p>
<p>He laughed again, though this time there was a certain nervous edge to it.</p>
<p>“Alright, alright, I’ll tell you,” he surrendered, raising his hands. “Just don’t kill me, please.”</p>
<p>She frowned at him suspiciously, but nodded and waited for him to spill the truth; except that he didn’t say anything. Instead, he raised an arm towards a corner of the ceiling. She followed the movement with her eyes, blinking at the security camera he was pointing at.</p>
<p>It clicked.</p>
<p>“You son of a-”.</p>
<p>“Hey, I asked you <em>not</em> to kill me!”</p>
<p>“You’re invading my privacy and spying through the security cameras-”</p>
<p>“Well, I kinda <em>am</em> the security consultant so technically-”</p>
<p>“No one is ever going to find your corpse-”</p>
<p>
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</p>
<p> </p>
<p>In fact, she didn’t end up killing him, though she was still seriously considering it while comfortably settled on the couch with Magnum. She could feel herself starting to doze off and tried to fight sleep as she turned another page of her book, stifling a yawn. Kumu was gone for a short visit to the cultural center after she had received a call, while T.C. and Rick were babbling softly in the small kitchen behind them.</p>
<p>“… Hey, Higgy.”</p>
<p>She looked up from her novel.</p>
<p>“Yes, Magnum?”</p>
<p>He was gazing at her, eyes glinting happily and so <em>soft</em>, and she couldn’t help but let out a silent sigh in contentment at the sight, remembering the crazy day they both had lived. At least now they were <em>safe</em> and they were <em>home</em>.</p>
<p>Juliet realized she wasn’t sure when she had started considering Robin’s Nest and <em>Magnum</em> as home, and honestly she wasn’t going to dwell on that, thank you very much.</p>
<p>“I still think we should talk to Robin about adding a few more pools outside.”</p>
<p>She stared at him.</p>
<p><em>Never mind</em>, she really was going to kill him after all.</p>
<p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>And that's it! Thank you, to all of you, for being so nice with me. I hope I'll be back soon with another story! Please take care of yourselves and stay safe!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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